Corre tu Carrera con Perseverancia | Crossroads en Español

Estoy corriendo al escenario por Run Journey. Se sintió apropiado. No sé cómo te fue a su grupo esta semana pasada. ¿Alguien terminó el tablero de la semana dos en su grupo? ¿Llegaron hasta el final? Vaya, buen trabajo por parte de ustedes. Es duro. Cada vez que escogemos la pregunta mala y volvemos ocho millas, pienso, ¿qué? Y luego compartimos para la pregunta de oro y solo obtenemos cinco. Bueno, ¿quién hizo este juego? Increíble. Si eres nuevo, bienvenido al Run Journey. Te pongo al día rápido. La idea básica es que no importa quién seas, tienes una carrera que correr. Una carrera dada por Dios. Un territorio que quiere que tomes y quiere que no solo corras, sino que ganes. Y la única forma de hacerlo es aprender a correrla a la forma de Dios. El modelo que seguimos y cómo hacerlo es Pablo, quien escribió casi todo el Nuevo Testamento y es el único que dijo, imitad mi ejemplo tal como yo imito el ejemplo de Cristo. Y por eso estamos haciendo esto. Una de nuestras escrituras clave es lo que escribió en Romanos capítulo 5. No solo eso.

Así que nos regocijamos en nuestros sufrimientos, porque sabemos que el sufrimiento produce perseverancia. La perseverancia produce carácter. El carácter produce esperanza. Hay una progresión que Dios quiere en tu vida para hacer de ti un mejor tú, más esperanzado, más fuerte, lleno de su poder. Eso es lo que buscamos en esto. La semana pasada, Ali Patterson habló sobre el sufrimiento. Un mensaje increíble, increíble, asombroso. Francamente, uno de los mensajes más potentes que creo haber escuchado. Si te lo perdiste, hazte un favor. Vuelve y míralo en Crossroads.net o está en nuestra aplicación, que puedes encontrar gratis en la tienda de aplicaciones. Ponerse al día hoy es sobre la resistencia. El punto del sufrimiento no es solo sufrir. El punto del sufrimiento es producir aguante. Así que hablamos de eso hoy. He perseverado de muchas maneras en mi vida. Una es como progenitor. Tengo tres hijos y he perseverado. ¿Hay padres primerizos aquí? ¿Están aquí? De hecho, no tienen que levantar la mano. Podemos identificarlos porque tienen como tres bolsas de pañales. Saben, su maletero está lleno de nueve tipos de cochecitos.

Una vez que tienes más de dos hijos, vendes las carriolas. De hecho, si tienes tres o cuatro hijos, sé que eres padre porque no tienes bolsa de pañales. De hecho, no tienes pañales. Si tu hijo ensucia sus pantalones, simplemente se lo quitas, los sacudes y se lo vuelves a poner. Ni siquiera se supone que sea reutilizable, ¿verdad? Simplemente estás bien, estás bien. Si Dios alguna vez te bendice tan poderosamente como para tener solo un hijo por la noche, lo llamas noche de cita y le alabas. Piensas, esto es genial, fácil con uno. ¿Por qué es eso? Es porque Dios aumenta tu capacidad. La perseverancia conduce al carácter. La perseverancia conduce a una mayor capacidad. Literalmente sostienes al hijo número dos y tres con brazos más fuertes porque has perseverado criando al hijo número uno. De eso estamos hablando hoy. Cada semana de esta travesía hemos estado visitando un nuevo lugar en la carrera de Pablo y hoy iremos a la ciudad de Atenas. Es el lugar que tal vez modela más la resistencia en la carrera de Pablo y en parte porque sucede justo en el medio. Hay 17 años desde la conversión de Pablo hasta que pone un pie en Atenas y luego 16 años desde Atenas hasta su muerte en Roma. Él visita 37 ciudades y regiones antes de Atenas y 35 después.

Así que está justo en el medio. Al igual que cada semana, hoy comenzaremos con una peregrinación virtual. Vamos a Atenas. Bienvenidos de nuevo a Encuentros Reales, temporada cinco, el viaje de la carrera. Estamos aquí de nuevo en Turquía y en Grecia. Descubriendo aún más la vida de Pablo en esta tercera semana. Hemos estado en Tarso y en Filipos hasta ahora. Y esta semana es una buena noticia porque hablamos de sufrimiento la semana pasada. Y al otro lado del sufrimiento hay honestamente un regalo, la recompensa de tener perseverancia. Y vemos a Pablo tener eso en un lugar llamado Atenas. En esta semana, ¿qué está pasando en Atenas que llevaría a Pablo allí? ¿Qué realmente lo haría un tipo que podría aguantar allí? Atenas es asombrosa. Es muy famosa. Y obviamente fue en el mundo antiguo porque Atenas fue realmente la cuna de todas las cosas que la cultura griega nos ha traído. ¿Saben? La democracia. Por ejemplo, ¿saben? La arquitectura, las matemáticas, la filosofía. Todas las cosas sobre las que se construye la cultura y la civilización occidental nacieron en Atenas. Así que Atenas fue de suma importancia en la Antigua Grecia.

Fue una de las tres grandes ciudades de la Antigua Grecia. Y es famosa como lo era en tiempos de Pablo. Tenía el edificio más grande de la Antigua Grecia, que era el Partenón, que se asienta sobre la Acrópolis con vistas a Atenas. Y esta es la ciudad. to which Paul came. Now, the good thing for us is that when we go there today, we see what the archaeologists have discovered and preserved. And again, we get the context of his stay there. I am interested, Nerula, in your context. How does perseverance manifest itself while you continue to advance and use what you have learned from suffering? How does it look? Yes, and when I think about all that, in reality, I believe that the world in which we live today is like Athens, right? With all the worldviews around us, and especially with the content that I produce online, I am bombarded with questions and comments from atheists, agnostics, and Muslims. And so, not only do I have to respond to all these things, but also to remain firm in my faith. And sometimes to endure those offensives as well, because not all those people who make those comments are very kind. Sometimes they are very aggressive. Some people are very shocked. They say, how are you able to respond

with such patience and so calmly? And of course, I do not claim any merit for myself, because as a fallen human being, I could not achieve it alone, but it is entirely because of the power, the strength, and the resistance that Jesus gives me, correct? That is the life of Paul. He perseveres well. We will go to Athens to learn what he says about our lives and what it could mean for our journey. Welcome to Athens. One of the most influential cities in the world for 3,000 years and more. Here democracy was born and the Olympic Games were created. This is where our Western ideals of culture, philosophy, and art are born. To call it historical is to be short. It is like saying that a painting by Leonardo is decent. It is not historical. This place is a living legend, and the jewel of the crown is this building right here. It is the Parthenon on the Acropolis, the highest rock in the city. It sits like a king in the mountains, dominating the entire city. It was built in the 5th century BC and has seen things. An example, in 334, Alexander the Great. You may have heard of him. He defeated the Persian army and celebrated by hanging his shields on the Parthenon.

You can still see the holes and the circles of those shields 2,300 years later. By the time Paul entered the city, this place was already ancient and legendary. Now, also in the Acropolis, there are other temples around. We have the temple of the goddess Nike, for example, one that could have influenced Paul's writings. That goddess Nike is represented in sculptures with a crown of a winner, ready to be placed on the winner's head. In those days, the crown was made of laurel leaves. Today, in the city, you can buy souvenirs. They are made of gold or, most likely, of painted plastic and metal. I'm sorry, Gracie, I bought you one. It's not real gold. But in those days, they were marched quickly because they were natural. Perhaps this is where Paul got the idea that he exposed in 1 Corinthians 9 about the crown that does not march. Paul wrote, All who compete train strictly. They do it for a crown that does not last, but we do it for one that lasts forever. Did that happen? I don't know. What I do know is that for millions of people, over thousands of years, visiting this city has been on their list of pending things.

What did Paul feel when he entered the city of legends? All indications are... Seriously? There are no writings that say he wanted to come to Athens. He only stayed a few weeks and did not return. Coming here, although it is beautiful and magnificent, was not in his plans, but it was on the map of God for Paul. So when he got here, Paul was ready. Before Athens, Paul was in Berea and Thessalonica and was thrown out of both. He left Silas and Timothy to finish matters there and came to Athens to wait for them. Pablo, esto era una larga escala en un lugar genial. Pablo no lo sabría, pero esto fue justo en medio de su viaje misionero. Y el punto medio es importante porque es cuando la mayoría de nosotros empezamos a modificar nuestro ritmo, un poco. Bajamos la velocidad, dejamos de esforzarnos, las disciplinas y hábitos que nos trajeron aquí empiezan a tener grietas. Pero Pablo decidió caminar por la ciudad. Pudo haberse relajado. Tendría sentido. Nadie esperaba nada de él. Pudo irse de vacaciones, ponerse los audífonos, las gafas y estar en la playa. Habría sido genial. Pero en cambio,

Pablo decide zambullirse de cabeza en la ciudad. Llegó a Lágora, el centro, el corazón de la ciudad, donde estaban los negocios, tiendas, restaurantes, edificios de gobierno. Los lugares de reunión estaban todos aquí. Y además, mientras caminaba, notó que también había ídolos y altares por todas partes. Detrás de mí se encuentra un altar dedicado al dios Zeus. Ahora, en su mejor momento, habría habido una estatua gigantesca de Zeus sobre este altar. Escalones que subían y lugares para que la gente le hiciera ofrendas. Pablo vio este altar y menciona otro que vio, un altar dedicado a un dios desconocido sin estatua porque no sabían quién era. Y a Pablo, eso le molestó profundamente. Tan profundamente que decidió tomar medidas. La historia va así en Hechos 17. Mientras Pablo los esperaba en Atenas, se indignó profundamente al ver que la ciudad estaba llena de ídolos. Por eso discutía en la sinagoga con los judíos y con los que adoraban a Dios. Y todos los días conversaba en la plaza con los que se encontraban allí. Cuando Pablo ve los ídolos de la ciudad, la escritura dice que se siente provocado. Esa palabra significa un pinchazo fuerte como con una espada.

Esto es significativo porque el medio de la carrera es cuando la mayoría de nosotros comenzamos a insensibilizarnos ante las necesidades de quienes nos rodean, ante los problemas y las indicaciones de Dios en nuestra vida. Pero no Pablo. En lugar de volverse más autosuficiente, Pablo se vuelve más dependiente de Dios, más sensible a su guía, más consciente de que cuando me da un toque necesito prestar atención. Pablo hace esto porque confía en la carrera. Confía en el camino que Dios ha dispuesto para él, el que describe en Romanos 5. Así que nos regocijamos en nuestros sufrimientos porque sabemos que el sufrimiento produce perseverancia. La perseverancia interesa de carácter, la interesa de carácter, esperanza, y la esperanza no nos defrauda. La primera vez que oí ese versículo, la traducción decía perseverar. Pensé, bien, así que sufres y tienes que sufrir más. Porque la perseverancia es apretar los dientes y aguantar, solo aferrarse y esperar que termine. Pero esa no es la palabra. La palabra es resistencia alegre y esperanzada. Es una recompensa que obtienes. La definición que le daría a resistencia es que es la capacidad de perseverar. Y es una capacidad que Dios promete aumentar en tu vida

a medida que atraviesas el sufrimiento. Esta es la historia del Evangelio de que de la muerte viene la vida. Del sufrimiento se convierte en una capacidad y una fuerza que no solías tener. Este es el viaje y conduce a un gran avance. No existe tal cosa como un avance espiritual a menos que persistas con él. La resistencia es absolutamente esencial. Cuando Jesús hablaba de orar, por ejemplo, decía, ya sabes, cuando ores, no pares, sigue. No ves más avances porque te rindes muy pronto. Sigue, sigue tocando, sigue pidiendo. Y entonces verás el avance. Esto hace Pablo en un momento en que la mayoría se habría relajado y se habría ido al modo vacaciones. Pablo pasa a la ofensiva. Resistencia, jugando a la defensiva. Resistencia, jugando a la ofensiva. Pablo llegó aquí al centro de la ciudad. Estamos en una calle en medio del ágora, entre dos pórticos, esas grandes galerías cubiertas donde los estoicos, de ahí viene el nombre Estoa, se sentaban a conversar. Hay una reconstruida detrás de mí. Se ve la columnata y el tejado te da una idea de cómo es la vida. It was in the days of Paul. Paul comes in here and starts talking to the people.

And unfortunately, he doesn't surprise Paul in his career. Not everyone appreciates what he says. Some epicurean and stoic philosophers spoke with him. Some said, what does this charlatan say? Charlatan means robber of rags, or alludes to the idea of a robber of rags. In the past, there were rags of rags out there. And there were people who grabbed the rags and tried to sew them in a kind of abominable blanket. People say, you're the one, Paul, picking up scraps of ideas. Interesting. You're picking them up and you're putting them together in an absolute disaster. It's the smart way of saying you're stupid. In many words, which doesn't sound smart. But hey, that's what they say. And Paul doesn't let himself be affected. This is a point in our career that many of us will have to learn to bear. Can you bear criticism? Do you handle resistance? When people are opposed to the ideas you have, to the call in your life, or to the career that you feel God has given you to run, can you bear the judgment that may come to you? Can you bear to be misinterpreted? This is a critical part of the career. And for Paul, he had the ability to move forward and not stop.

That's how history goes on. Others said, it seems he's a preacher of foreign divinities because he was announcing Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and took him to the Areopagus saying, can we know what new teaching is this that you are presenting? Because you bring strange things to our ears. We want to know what they mean. His tone was not, oh, Pablo, how interesting. We have a reading club that meets on the hill. Do you want to come with us and share some of your interesting philosophy? We can drink rosé, eat some charcuterie. It will be great. That's not what happens here. It's a serious accusation. You preach foreign gods. We must know more. And they take them to this place where we are right now. This is the famous Areopagus, the mountain of Mars. It's where the archons retired. What is an archon? The archons were the ruling class in Greece. There were nine. Although for Paul, they were not the ones in charge. They did have a certain amount of power, particularly over the courts and over the law. When the archons retired, they went to the Areopagus. Something like a court that celebrated something similar to trials against people to whom these accusations were presented. We know that they heard cases of homicide,

fire, and religious cases. If we rewind 400 years, there is a famous and important case for Paul. It is the trial of Socrates in 399 BC. Socrates is taken before the same body, the Areopagus, with the same accusations, preaching foreign gods. And in the case of Socrates, they find him guilty and order his execution. They force him to drink the poison of Sicuta, and he dies. Now Paul, as he grew up in Tarsus, the Athens of the East, home of philosophy, being well-educated, knew that case. He understood that from the moment they said, preaching foreign gods, let's go to the Areopagus, this could end very, very badly for him. And yet, Paul chooses to endure. Paul does not back down. What he does next is proceed to give the absolute master class on how to share the gospel in a language that someone else can really understand. Here begins his message in Acts 17. Entonces Pablo, erguido en medio del Areopago, declaró solemnemente, Atenienses, veo que en todos son muy religiosos. Al pasar y fijarme en sus objetos de culto, encontré incluso un altar con esta inscripción, a un dios desconocido. Pues bien, eso que ustedes adoran como algo desconocido. Estos lo digo. Pablo es brillante aquí.

Encuentra un punto en común y una forma de animarlos y afirmarlos. Dice, noté que son muy religiosos. De hecho, encontré en el agora un altar dedicado a un dios no conocido, uno al que ya le rinden culto. No estoy predicando sobre dioses extraños. Estoy predicando. about one of his gods. All I want to do is to tell you about the god that you already worship. Brilliant. He breaks down your objections, opens your ears, and proceeds to share the Gospel, the message of Jesus, in a language that these Greeks could really understand. It's amazing. If you've enjoyed a message on Crossroads, if you felt it, I felt that you were talking to me. I felt that you understood me. Well, the basis of how we preach and how we communicate can be traced exactly to this moment on this hill. Paul in front of the Areopagus, sharing the Gospel. Brilliant. Now, unfortunately, Paul receives criticism for this. There are theologians who have criticized him and said, he must have been out of his mind at this moment, or this is not the true message he gave.

Surely Luke edited the words and the acts and omitted some things because he certainly would not have omitted the Gospel. We did not omit it. He made it refreshing in a way that they would want to take it and drink it for real. Because Paul, right now, is successful. His resistance bears fruit. It's not that everyone applauds or asks how to be saved, but there are definitely people who at the end of their speech say, I want to know more. Look, in a moment, when others would have laid down and relaxed, they would have turned back. Paul approached. At a time when many others would have decided to lower their weapons, Paul takes them and says, today I have good news for you. Paul has a secret that we must have to follow Jesus and win the race. The mentality of Jesus of running with resistance. Hebrews 12 expresses it in this way. Therefore, since a great cloud of witnesses surrounds us, let us be free of all weight and of the sin that besieges us, and let us run with perseverance the race that we have ahead,

looking at Jesus, the author and consumer of our faith, who, for the pleasure he had ahead, endured the cross, despising humiliation, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. This week, we talk about perseverance. This is the next step for us to understand if we want to win our race, if we want to run the way Jesus wants us to run. Do we have to increase our ability to persevere? Well, we went from Athens, as we see it today, to Athens, as we saw it in those times. This is, in fact, the same building that we just observed, the Parthenon, in its original appearance. It was painted, it had sculptures everywhere, gold, iron, and ivory. It was incredible. This building is a reflection of what we discussed, an image of perseverance. This building is a reflection of what we discussed, an image of perseverance. It was in the same place for 2,400 years. You might think, well, it must be in a lucky place, right? Maybe without earthquakes. No, it's the opposite. Many earthquakes.

It has endured hundreds. It saw the rise and fall of the Greeks who built it. It saw the rise and fall of the Romans. They even shot it and blew it up. In the year 1657, the Ottomans controlled this and needed to store their gunpowder, and they thought it would be useful. They used it as a warehouse. The Venetians attacked Athens. They couldn't disembark. They had ships at the port. And someone said, what if we shot a cannon at it? They shot at the gunpowder and blew up the side and the roof. They've been repairing it since then. When we were there, it was the first time in 200 years They took it off a week before and put it on shortly after we left. Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy. Now it's an image of resistance. Not because it's old. It's a symbol of resistance because it suffered a lot and it's still standing. I think Paul felt something when he saw that structure when he arrived.

He saw his story in it. As you heard, when Paul arrived, he didn't just do tourism. He stayed at the top of the hill admiring the beautiful building. Instead, he went down to the market square. He got to know the people, their culture and their thoughts. He decided to stay firm in his career. He began to disturb him deeply, so much so that he began to comment on him. And what that did was that he ended up in the middle of a storm. He took him to the top, in front of the areopagus, to be judged for his life. A storm that did not ask, perhaps did not deserve, but it was still there. In a sunny day you do not need resistance, only patience. You wait, but when the storm comes, when it starts to rain, the requirement is to persevere. And what we must understand from the beginning is that God is not interested in changing the weather. He is interested in changing us. As humans, we have two reactions to a storm to endure. One is anger, to challenge it, to shout at it, and to ask why it is here. I have never shouted to drive away a storm. Maybe it will work for you, but not for me. The instinctive reaction two is not just anger, it is fear, it is, oh no, this is horrible. I have to run away from the storm. But if we do that, we will lose what will happen in our lives, to endure the storm, the character that God wants to form in us. Storms can be hurricanes. Maybe you are in one right now and you are fighting. There is something that feels like an overwhelming hurricane. It just wants to kneel you down.

It can also be a daily drizzle, you know, just a drizzle. Drizzle, another diaper, and another diaper. Maybe you are at school. It is the task. You feel that all your teachers get together at the beginning of the day and say, how can we crush it completely? How can we make his afternoon scary? You know, they think, why am I studying geometry? It is not because you are going to need to calculate the cosine of something, I assure you. But it is that the work of persevering changes you. Maybe you are in business, and the costs are growing, and the personnel problems. Maybe that is what you are enduring. Whatever the situation, the point is that God does not want to change the climate. He wants to transform you. And we must understand that. If we want to reach the point of resistance that character forges, character is what God wants. You know, every storm I have been in in my life humiliates me. It is as if I took my weaknesses, all the places where I do not know how to act, and put them right in front of me. And you know what? That is what God wants. That is exactly what He wants. Perseverance produces character. In fact, the first step, I have four steps for perseverance for you today. The first step is to recognize your weaknesses. This has happened to me the last two weeks. My job is to direct our personnel and our church. And maybe you know that our church is going through some situations now,

some difficulties. That has taken my weaknesses and failures and has put them in front of me. People ask, how are you? And the most honest answer is that I feel like an empty cup. I feel like a jar that was full, but man, the wind simply turned it over, and all the water, all the water has gone. It spilled into the sand, the sun came out, everything has gone. And people keep coming to me, wanting a drink. And I say, I have nothing. I have nothing. The verse that God has used to sharpen me in this, to develop my character in this, is this. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 7. It says, God, I am a jar of mud. You are a jar of mud. God, I have cracks, I have ruptures. I can be empty. I can be destroyed. God, I could fall and become weak. If you don't accept your weakness, you can't be strong. This contradicts what they taught you. Don't show your flaws. Why do it at work? That's nonsense. Don't admit your failures and defects. Why would you do that? Hide them, protect them. When pressure comes, just tell everyone that you are Iron Man. That's not what the Scriptures say.

No, no, no. A friend, as a way to encourage me, I believe, pointed out a verse in our section of one of Paul's letters, 2 Corinthians, chapter 11. It's like this list where Paul says, Hey, what have you endured? And then he says, Hold my beer. And he says, I've been shipwrecked, I've been hungry, I've been in danger from bandits and dangers, and I've been naked, and I've been afraid, he says. I've been whipped with rods, I've been whipped with whips, all that kind of stuff. And at the end, he finishes by saying, 2 Corinthians 11, 28, and in addition to all the rest, there is the daily burden that I feel for the concern that I have for all the congregations. He asks, do you know what is more serious than all that? The leadership of the church. That is worse. And I think, Pablo, I understand you perfectly, I totally agree with you, yes, amen, Pablo, I understand you. Listen to what he says, his next words are, who is weak and I am not? Who is induced to sin and I do not offend? If it is necessary that he boast, I will do it of those things that show my weakness. Weakness. Look, the way to endure is not the force pretended, the way to endure is to admit your weakness. Why? Because God does not exchange power for pride, because God does not exchange power for an impressive report of grades, God exchanges power for a sign of weakness, period. Pablo said this in 2 Corinthians 12, but he said to me, stop my grace, for my power is perfected in weakness. That is why I will glorify myself with pleasure in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ rests upon me.

Because of this, because of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in difficulties, in persecutions, in tribulations, because when I am weak, then I am strong. Pablo reached the point in his career where it is not only, I will survive, he says, I delight in it, I am happy to talk about my weakness, I am happy to receive your insults, because when I am weak, I am strong. I am a glass of mud. That means that I need to fill myself and reform myself. The second step is to ask him to do it, ask him to replenish you and mold you again. We have been doing Bible in one year as a community in the app Crossroads. We are about 3,000. If you do not do it, you are welcome to join, and we have been in the difficult part of the Bible that you have to endure, right? Like all lists, such engendered such, engendered such, and you think, what? It is possible that I have heard part of that at double speed in my car, simply. Chuck Mingo said that he also did it, so it's okay, it's okay, we can't stand it. Fortunately, we are in the part where there are stories again, and the other day we were in Numbers 21, and there was a story that jumped off the page. This is the part of the story where Israel left Egypt. They are in the Exodus, and this happens, Numbers 21, and the people spoke against God and against Moses. Why have you made us come up from Egypt to die in the desert, since we have no food or water, and we hate this despicable food? Then the Lord sent burning snakes among the people, and they bit the people, and many Israelites died. I think, I feel much better when I get angry with my children and they complain about dinner, you know? I have never said, take this, hold this snake. God did it like that. He says, listen, here are snakes, and I read that, and I thought, wait a minute, I think there is a story where Jesus says that if you ask God for food, he will not give you

a snake, and then I found it, yes, Matthew 7. Jesus said, what man among you that if his son asks for bread, he will give him a stone, or if he asks for fish, he will give him a snake? If you, being bad, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more your Father, who is in heaven, will give good things to those who ask for them? It's like, wait, wait a second, didn't you do the same? Isn't there a story where you did exactly the same? And then I examined it carefully, and something struck me. Do you know what they didn't do in the book of Numbers during Exodus? God never asked, they just complained, God, there is no food, God, I don't have what I need, God, it's your fault, what's happening to me? And by the way, complaining to God is okay, you can absolutely complain to God, the Psalms are full of laments, in fact, there is a whole book called Lamentations. It's okay to complain, but don't stop at the complaint, ask God to fill you up and reform you, you will see, God loves you, he loves you deeply. God loves you as you are right now, and he doesn't want you to stay like this. That's what I'm talking about, resistance produces character, he has more for you. You can ask God to fill you up and reform you, and that's what he asks for. The you of tomorrow will be better than the you of today if you do that. In fact, the worst version of you that will exist in the future will be the version that you are right now. if you follow the path of perseverance that leads to character. A more hopeful you comes, a more joyful you comes, a more powerful you comes, a more faithful, holy and just you comes. It's incredible if, if, if you persevere, if you do it. I think we adults can believe that we have stopped growing, and that's fine. They say, no, horizontally you can grow by accident, but no, no, God wants you to grow. He never, never stops. He is constantly renewing your character, your inner self.

This is what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4. He says we don't get discouraged. Although our outer man weakens, the inner man renews itself every day. Our character is constantly transforming. Ask Him to fill you. Ask Him to make you again. Third step to endure, act. Act, yes, admit. Yes, act, or yes, admit. Yes, ask, but you also have to act. You have to do something. In our groups this week, we have a weekly golden question that everyone will answer. This golden question this week requires reflection on this passage. From the part where Paul mentions all the runners run, only one gets the prize. From that section, he says this, 1 Corinthians 9.25. Everyone who competes in the Games undergoes strict training. Strict. Now I think we hear that word, strict, and we think, that must mean like one-arm push-ups. That must mean like a marathon. I need to run a marathon. I need to memorize whole books of the Bible. But maybe, maybe, but probably not. Strict does not mean extreme. Strict means every day. That's what I mean. It doesn't mean a marathon. It means a mile. It doesn't mean one-arm push-ups. It means 20 every morning.

Look, I don't discover in my life that when I get unhealthy, I'm not unhealthy because I don't know what to do. Physically unhealthy, right? I know what to do. Diet and exercise. Diet and always. You also know it. You're not confused about what to do. But even so, we buy all these books, we watch all these videos, and we look for the shortcut and the secret, waiting for someone to tell us something different. No, diet and exercise, you know it, I know it. We're just not doing it. And I think the same applies to strict training. Maybe, maybe, maybe there's something that God wants you to do involved in strict training, to persevere, which you don't know. But I'm going to guess that you already know what it is. You're just not doing it. Maybe in your career, to be able to persevere, you feel this distance between you and God, and you know you need to close that gap. If so, I recommend you pray every day. Just set a timer for 10 minutes every morning. Just do that day after day after day. After 30 days, I promise you won't feel that gap. Maybe you're at a stage in your career where to persevere you need wisdom, discernment, you need to understand what God says about it.

If you're in that situation, develop the habit of reading the Bible. You can join us in the app. I already gave you the secret code. Listen to it at twice the speed. Okay. Just get it. Just start doing it. Just start doing it. Maybe what you're missing in your career to persevere is a gap of wise advice in my life. People who know me, love me, know me, and love Jesus and can tell me the truth. If that's you, start planning how your group could continue after the race. You need those people in your life. Maybe in your career, what you're missing is literal physical energy. Great. Diet and exercise. Do something. You know what to do. Choose one thing. Maybe in your life, financial health is what's stopping you. Great. Sign up for a class. Look for wise advice. Improve your health. Start paying that debt. It's possible. Yes, you can. But you need to act.

Act. Why do all this, by the way? Why acknowledge? Why ask? Why act? It's because effort is worth it. It's worth it. Look, when you hold on, God will make a better you. A stronger you. The hero for me, in terms of resistance, right now, is my son. My oldest son, Ben. He's a first year high school student, and he's held on. And I've seen how his character changes. About a year ago at school, they started bullying him. For no particular reason. Just to be him. And we had a lot of conversations about that. About the high and holy calling to follow Jesus. Where we love our enemies. We pray for those who persecute us. And where we also tell the truth, even if it's difficult. Even when you feel insecure. He persevered, and his character changed. A month ago at school, they started bullying him again. Because our church was in the news. The kids were telling him, your church is fake. And everything is horrible. And everything you've learned is useless. Everything was wrong.

So we had conversations about being a glass of mud. Yo. I said, look, every leader in your life, including me, is a glass of mud. Have I ever done something that bothers you? Have I ever gotten too angry with you? He said, yes. I said, that's the glass of mud. That's because I have cracks and I have sprains and I'm not perfect. Man, I'm not. Have I ever done something to bless you and help you? Yes. Well, that was the power of God within me. It's totally real. His character changed. He persevered. This past Monday at school, again, our church is in the headlines. And again, they bother us. Your church is horrible and your opinions are wrong and all those things. And so, again, we had another conversation. About how sometimes the most difficult, but the most holy, is to remain in silence like Jesus. Scripture says that when he was accused, it was like a sheep before which he kept silence. Sometimes the most difficult thing to do is to just shut up. He persevered and his character changed. A year ago, he would have crushed himself for anyone who opposed him, anyone who bothered him. And that's not his current state. Not only that, his character has changed to the point that his career is now helping other people. Sara and I received this incredible email from his school on Wednesday. I would love to share it. Comment. Ben knows how to be a good friend.

A classmate was clearly going through a very difficult day. Ben was compassionate and he tried to help them. He made sure that he was supported and not alone. By the way, that boy was being harassed. Look, when you persevere, God will change your character. As that boy's father, I begged God to stop the storm. I begged God to change the weather. God changed the weather. He doesn't deserve this. This is not justifiable. He changed the weather. He didn't do it. But do you know what he did? He transformed my son's character. I tell you, he wants to do the same for you. He wants to do the same for you. He does it. One day the storm will end. He will do it. He will do it. You know, the storm I'm in now, the pressure we face, the one I face, the moment I'm choosing, is to stay in the storm. I mean, God, if there's something you want to change in me, would you change it? God, I don't know how to do this, but would you fill me? Would you reform me? If there's something different you want me to do, just show me what it is. Just show me. I don't know what will happen next. I don't have the answers, but you know what? I worship a God whose name is the truth.

He is the truth. He knows the way for you. Do you trust Him? I told you I've been empty, like an empty glass this week. But a miracle also happens. Every time someone has come to me and asked for a drink of water, the craziest thing has happened. I think I'm empty, and I ask God to fill me, and I bow to the person in front of me, and fresh water springs up for them. Crazy. So I look at this verse, and I can say this. 2 Corinthians 4. But I have this treasure, in this glass of mud, to show that the power that surpasses is of God, not of me. I am oppressed everywhere, but not crushed. I am perplexed. I am not desperate. I am persecuted, but not abandoned. I am overthrown, but not destroyed. I am not annihilated. Look, I have no idea when the blue skies could return to their life. I have no idea when it will feel like blue skies here again. I have no idea. But you know what? I know they're coming. I know they're coming. I know that the best thing for our church are the coming days. I know that the mission last week, last month, and last year, was to reach the lost with the message of Jesus in a language they can understand. And it will be the same next week, next month, and next year. I know that there are needy people who need to be raised.

I know that there are girls on the other side of the world who need protection and rescue. I know that there is a revival that God wants to initiate, and He will do it. He will do it if you and I endure. It is not time to give up. It is time to say, God, I am weak. Would you fill me? Would you mold me? Is there something you want me to do? Is there something you want me to do in my life? Paul said this in Philippians 1, 6. He said, I am sure of this. I am sure that He who began the good work in you, will carry it out on the day of Jesus Christ. I am sure of this. Friends, I am sure of this. I am sure of this. And maybe you are at a point where you say, that is wonderful for you. But I am not sure of this in my life. I cannot see the blue sky at the end of this storm. I do not know if I can continue to endure. I do not know if I can achieve it. 4. And perhaps the most important step for resistance is to ask God to show it to you. Ask God to show you his love for you. Ask God to show you his arms surrounding you. Ask God to show you that he is filling you with his power. Ask God to show you the blue skies that are coming. Ask God to give you an image of hope on the other side of the storm. Ask God to show you what it means to trust him with all your life. I see shattered pieces, you see what could be whole. I see falling short, you see worthy. I see not enough, you see mercy.

Oh, to have your vision go beyond what I know. Show me what it looks like to give you all of my life and lean on the logic of heaven and follow the path of your presence. Even if the whole world is saying that it won't work, I'll stake it all on your kingdom and I won't let go till I see it. Wisdom far above my own perspective. Hope that grows up when I least expect it. Give me faith that wakes me from my sleep. Oh, I need it. Oh, I need it. Show me what it looks like to give you all of my life and lean on the logic of heaven and follow the path of your presence. Even if the whole world is saying that it won't work, I'll stake it all on your kingdom and I won't let go, I won't let go, I won't let go till I see it. I won't let go till I see it. Oh, what seems impossible is possible for you. Oh, what seems unbreakable is where you'll break it through, Lord. Nothing is over till you say it's over. There's not a mountain on the earth that you can't move. So show me what it looks like to give you all of my life and lean on the logic of heaven and follow the path of your presence. Even if the whole world is saying that it won't work, I'll stake it all on your kingdom and I won't let go, I won't let go, I won't let go till I see it. I won't let go till I see it. Open up each group and each conversation. You guide. You direct. Give us the ears to listen, the eyes to see, and the feet to follow you. In our career, you are a good God and we love you. Amen.