The Olympic spirit of the son of God

God is here in our midst, my brothers. I believe in the promises of God. This is the message that I was preaching on Sunday, that is, when God gives a promise, those are the promises that fill us up and give us energy to move forward. God does not fail his promise and that promise gives us a sense of hope for us to keep going, fighting. In all that we can face that promise of the Lord, they not only give us strength, they encourage us, but they also give us a sense of teaching, they open our minds so that we can understand the way in which God is directing each one of us. our steps.

And today, my brothers, I would like, in one way or another, to continue in connection with that message that I was sharing on Sunday. I don't know how many of you follow sports like me, but we are about to start the Olympics. How many of you like the Olympics? Or do they watch the Olympics? They like sports, the summer Olympics come every 4 years and I really love that, it's something that I enjoy, from the opening ceremony, all the events, to the closing ceremony. It is something that all the eyes of the world focus on there. It is the Olympic spirit as they say many times in the news.

And today I would like to talk about the Olympic spirit of the son or daughter of God, if you will. I would like you to go with me to the book of Hebrews, chapter 12, verses 1 and 2. A well-known passage but I would like to reflect on them today.

“…Therefore, we too, having around us a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off all weight and the sin that besieges us and run with patience – underline that word, − the race that lies ahead of us, fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…”

I am going to leave it there, fixing our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. There is something that strikes me a lot about different writers in the Bible, one of them is Paul and the other is the writer of Hebrews, who have this idea of illustrating an event such as a sport, a race, that the Life of faith is like a race in which all of us find ourselves in one way or another.

And here in the church it is preached in different ways, or at different times, rather, that idea is preached that our life as children of God has to be seen as a race and it is not necessarily a 100-meter race that is shot the shot and you run and you're there, but it's more of a long-term, marathon type of running. It is something that has been going on for a long time. And every race, my brothers, has a strategy to prepare for it.

I think that this is one of the parts that I wanted to reflect on about the Olympics. Because each of the athletes who make it to the Olympics are like the best of the best, the best of the best, from all countries. I mean, each of these countries, if you know how this works, each of the countries represented in the Olympics, they have their own individual competitions where all the athletes go and participate in a qualifier and go to a quarterfinal race. final to a semifinal and from the semifinal then they go to the final. And those who come out of the final are then the ones who are going to compete in the Olympics.

So imagine a country like the United States that has perhaps thousands of athletes, of those thousands of athletes, it only goes as a delegation of 200, 300 athletes in the different sports represented in the Olympics. So the competition is a lot and the stress on each one of these athletes is also a lot because each one of them wants to… it is the dream of any athlete to be able to get to the podium and to the Olympics and to be awarded a medal and that you have reached that award, not only that, but later they raise the flag of their country and the national anthem and that is something that fills anyone with pride.

But the preparation to get there that many times people do not see all the preparation that is behind that athlete when he receives his medal and they sing his national anthem. Hours, days of dedication, of sacrifice, of effort, of mere, of frustrations, of losses as well as victories. That is something that defines every athlete.

This morning I was watching the story of an athlete who lost both of his legs. Along with the Olympics there are also the Para-Olympics, which are like the Olympics for people with some type of disability. And I've heard the story of at least two or three of these people, and one of them is a swimmer. And you think maybe with half his legs he might not be able to propel himself well in the pool, but the man looks like a regular swimmer, like he's had his whole legs. And he tells his entire story of the different backgrounds or difficulties that he went through and especially when he had an accident that caused him to lose his legs and he thought that his sports career ended there. However, he went ahead and made it to the Olympics.

How many of you have heard of Michael Felps who is one of the most mentioned athletes in swimming? Have you heard of him? Michael felps was another one that wasn't very promising. People would see him and it was like… oh, the son of a single mother, kind of a troublesome kid, whatnot. That is the story of him when he was little. However, now he is one of the most decorated athletes at the Olympic level. That if he wins 3 more medals in these Olympics, he will break the record of an athlete who has won the most medals in the history of the Olympics.

So you look at all these stories and you're like, wow, that's inspiring. And what does that have to do with me because I am not an athlete, I am an average, regular person? But look, even if you don't even run from here to the corner, maybe your run is from the room to the kitchen, to the fridge or from the room to the bathroom or something like that, at night, but you know what? Each of us as sons or daughters of God have something athletic in our spirit, in our heart.

Because we have to understand that this life is a long-term life. And it requires the same determination, dedication and sacrifice that any athlete would do in their respective sports.

Now, but this is not easy. Look how it says the text we read. I like this idea that you say, having around us such a huge cloud of witnesses... if you've been in a stadium and you stand there and you're about to start your run and you're surrounded by all these people, wow, that's it can be quite an overwhelming sight. What's more, if I tell you, stand here in front and you have all the eyes of the people looking at you to see what you are going to say, there are times when one is intimidated by an image like that.

But the thing is that when you have all that cloud of witnesses in front of you, it's like, okay, people are seeing how you're going to run this race, how your performance is going to be. But not only this cloud of witnesses that is here, but the cloud of witnesses in the heavens as well. God is watching, Jesus is watching, the angels are watching us, all the saints that may be up there, cherubs, archangels, seraphim, everything that is up there, even principalities, powers, demons, everything is watching, everything The world has its eyes on you. And before all that you are there, as if to say, on the block, at your start, or who knows if you are already running halfway through your career, who knows if some are already reaching the end of their career.

But the matter that you are there on that stage. How are we going to continue? Look at the advice it says here. Let's get rid of all weight and sin that besieges us, everything that can prevent your running, your advance, is something we have to get rid of. And what I like is that you have to do it yourself. You can't wait for someone else to come and take it away from you, you have to take it off yourself. You are the one who knows what weighs on you. Let's get rid of it, it's an action where you have to put your batteries together and okay, if this doesn't work for me, I'll take it off. And there I continue until I am ready to be able to do this race.

I return again to this image of an athlete, when the athletes arrive on the track, they arrive with their sweatshirts, they have their jackets, their long pants, they are warming up, stretching their legs, then suddenly when the time comes to arrive at the block , they take everything off and what they stay is in their shorts, in their shirt, or the lycra, the tights, whatever it is that they are going to run and they are there ready. But they get rid of everything that can prevent them from moving forward.

I always ask myself, my brothers, I do this task to myself. What prevents me from running? What prevents me from moving forward? What prevents me from being able to keep my eyes focused on Jesus who is my ultimate goal? It's my ultimate prize. Is it some attitude, is it some character flaw? It will be some explosiveness that is in one or some ups and downs in your moods and it is not necessarily due to menopause or that your hormones change, but it is due to something in your character, some dissatisfaction or something, and some days you are up and some days you are below and one is that like, I don't know how to read this person because I don't know how to greet him, there are times when he looks at me well, there are times when he looks at me badly, so what do I do?

But it's that, it's that idea. In other words, if it is something in my character that I have to pay attention to it and get rid of it in order to incorporate something that can help me move on, I have to do it. Of course, God is there to help us. Because when we are talking about that, things like that are so deep in one's being, we need God's help so that these things can be removed little by little, from above us. Today a little here, tomorrow a little there, the day after tomorrow a little here and we are stripping little by little until one can be fully in line to be able to do that race, or not do it but continue in it.

And I like that there are times when God uses forms, many times one does not like it, but God can use other people to identify those areas of our life, of our character, of our heart, for us to truly be able to work on it and pay attention to those things.

Someone who suddenly says, hey, but you're very serious, you don't laugh. And you of course not, but I am a normal person, that's how I am. But you do not realize that your seriousness perhaps isolates you from other people, who can benefit from you and your resources, but because of that serious face that you have, people are intimidated and do not dare to hit you. And it's not until someone comes up to you and tells you that then you're like, oh wait, if I have to pay attention to that, well I pay attention. I mean, the one with a teachable heart can say that. A person who does not have a very teachable heart will say, what does that person care, I am the way I am. Let him or her solve it for you, find another person to help you with your problem.

Good grief, that goes to a selfish and proud attitude. So you don't open up to serve in a voluntary way, giving to other people around you. Just because of that character flaw that may be there. But we have to get rid of those things.

Our eyes, my brothers, on whom? In the shepherd? No, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith. Turn with me to this other text, First Corinthians, chapter 9, verse 24, it says:

"...They don't know that those who run in the stadium all run, but only one takes the prize, you run in such a way that you can obtain it..."

Everyone who fights for everything refrains, they really want to receive a crown, a medal that if they put it in the fire it melts and nothing is made again, but we are looking for a medal, an incorruptible prize. It is more that the fire is polished more, so to speak, it takes on more value when it is passed through the fire. So, in this way, we run, not on an adventure, and in this way we fight, not like someone who punches the air, that is, when we run, we run with a sense of purpose, with a sense of direction.

Ask yourself every day how are you running? How are you progressing in your life? I mean, life's problems are so overwhelming that you can't see beyond? And then you're like a little viscous because all the problems are facing you like that and you can't see above them? And then you have to get rid of some of those things to be able to see more clearly ahead? How are we running?

And it is interesting because here the example that he is giving, there are several people who are running in the stadium, they are not opponents with each other, but the good thing is that in your race, you do not have opponents, you have colleagues, which makes that career even more viable. It is not that someone is going to step on you or trip you up so that you fall, but that you are going to have people there who are going to be running, who knows if at the same pace as you or some who are going to leave a little further forward, and from there they can encourage you so that you can move on.

We are all running for the same prize. Look at this prize, Philippians, chapter 3, verse 12. Paul is saying to the brothers of the church in Philippi, he says.

"...Not that I have already reached it or that it is already perfect, but that I continue to see if I can grasp or reach that for which I was also reached by Christ Jesus..."

This passage has a sense of purpose to it. Because Paul is seeking to achieve that for which Jesus reached him first. In other words, what he wants to achieve is that perfect call that Jesus has for his life. I gave myself up for you, I caught up with you for this, now you have to play your part. I already ran my part, now you have to run yours.

That's what that text is saying. And we have to continue to the goal.

“…Brothers, I myself, − verse 13 −… I do not claim to have already reached it, but one thing is to certainly forget what is behind and extend myself to what is ahead…”

Two very important actions, my brothers, that we have to learn to do in our lives. Well, three, I'm going to mention three. Number 1, stay humble. When Paul says, it is not that I have already reached it, the man is acknowledging that he lacks. And look, Pablo knew enough. The man was a professor, if you will, of his day. But if he said that it's not that he had achieved everything already, that makes me understand that one has to have a certain level of humility, a certain form of humility in how one sees oneself. That humility brings a level of health to life, to your life personally. And through your life to the lives of others around you.

When you think of yourself sanely, that you are not the great epic, that you are not the latest Coke or Sprite, or desert lemonade, whatever you want to identify with, or a bottle of water, you have to understand then that your strength comes from the Lord.

It's like the second action he says, forgetting what's left behind and how difficult it is sometimes to forget what's left behind. You know, one of the training that sprinters do, part of their training do you know what it's like? They put some straps on them that have a rope and that rope carries like a reel that does not have wheels, it is a reel that is flat on the floor and they put it there like weight plates, about 45 pounds they put there. And the thing is that they have to sprint a distance dragging that. And many times they put a second disc and they have to run again, a third disc, they have to run again, and sometimes up to 4 45-pound discs, if you don't do the math. 45 for 4, how much is that? 180 pounds dragging that on a reel, running maybe 25 meters in speed.

After he does that, the discs are removed until he removes that and when they measure his time, obviously his time is going to be less, because the man is going to be so and so light that he's going to run that in nothing. That is the idea that this text conveys. Forget what I'm dragging, all that weight that I can bring behind me or even on top of me, I have to forget about it and let go. Think of it this way, that weight of the past is taking away time for the future. Hey, I liked that. What you have been dragging from the past is subtracting time from what you can do in the future. Put it there.

What are we dragging? The boyfriend who dumped you when you were in high school? The ice cream that your dad promised you and never gave you? Why did he leave and abandon you when you were only 7 years old? An experience of abandonment, you keep carrying that. A person in whom you put your trust is gone and you are still dealing with it. Your image of what a man is, or an authority figure is completely blurred by that past experience.

You had a boss who was a candyman, as they say sometimes, he was one of those very difficult bosses, and one day he offended you in front of your colleagues and that event kind of marked you. And so I can keep mentioning different things. Ah, the drink, those who suffered, I'm not going to say that they suffer, that they suffered from the drink and that you continue carrying those vices, and you're trying to let go but you can't. So many other things. A very loose tongue that offends anyone, with any word and that continues to hold you to the past and is taking time away from what you can do towards the future.

Forgetting what's left behind, and what do I have to do then? Extend to what is in front. You have seen that photo finish when the athletes are reaching the finish line, that when they are very close to each other, it is as if you see them stretching out there, if they can, they even stick out their tongues to see what is the first thing that crosses the line. It is this idea of extending yourself, that is, you have all these things that are threatening you so that you can reach your prize and one has to make that additional effort to reach and arrive.

This image, my brothers, what it is saying is that intention that one has to put into things. Oh, Sunday is coming, I don't feel like getting up to go to church. I feel heavy, the ice cream I ate last night didn't taste good. And Sunday arrives, you don't even smell the lilies. In a situation like this, look, push yourself, get up, stretch out, get to the shower, take a bath and see if your spirits rise again. It is also how we have to extend ourselves, it is that intentional force.

Look, brothers, there are times when I identify with that. There are times that I don't want to reveal too much but there are times that I say to myself, oh, again, I sit in counseling with someone and they come back to me with the same story and it's like… again, but no, I have to get that out of my mind head on and force myself to be able to be there and encourage this person so that this person can also reach their goal. Give it a push. Give it and it arrives, it arrives. I'm there with you too, I'm running with you too.

Forget what is behind and stretch out towards what is ahead, continue towards the goal, for the prize of the supreme call of God in Christ Jesus. There's your prize. There is your goal. Your goal is found in what Jesus has for you. And it is a goal that I say is unfolding as the years go by. From here to tomorrow you are going to get a prize because you were faithful in that race. Later you will have another prize because Jesus will continue as he says, revealing himself to your life in a totally different way until you can achieve that supreme prize, which will not be compared to any other.

I believe that we are not going to see that award here in this life. That is the prize we are going to see when he comes for us. But in the meantime, I have to believe that this continuous revelation of the call of Jesus, of God's call in the midst of our lives, is going to be the prize that is going to keep us there with that high, high spirit. It is the expectation of...

I close with this thought. Are you waiting for that prize that the Lord is going to bring into your life? Every morning when we wake up thinking, Lord, today is one more day that I can get closer to that prize that you have for me. Today is one more day that I can see some part of that prize unfold before me.

Look, I tell you, if we live like this, my brothers, even if moments of frustration come into our lives, we will be able to overcome them, because we are looking at something that comes beyond. And I do not say this lightly, my brothers, I do not say this lightly, because I know that many times those frustrating moments that come into our lives are very hard and can knock us down.

Look, at the Barcelona Olympics they interviewed this athlete, he was one of Great Britain's favorites in the 400 meter race, one lap around the track. It was the final, the man managed to get through the quarterfinal, the semifinal and when he was in the final, he was one of the favourites, in the first 200 meters he tore his [inaudible] muscle and fell to the ground. The man fell to the ground crying, this is what he said in the interview, he cried, not from pain, but from the frustration that he was going to lose the race. When the doctors went to assist him on the track, he took everyone out and did what no other athlete had ever done, he got up and limped on, continuing to run to the finish line.

When he had about 50 meters to go, the pain was so much that they had to come and assist him, carry him so he could reach the finish line. When that man reached the finish line, they focused on his face and the man was crying, crying at such a level, that's why it had happened, but they said that that was the moment of the most valuable Olympic spirit, because that's where the true Olympic spirit, who despite the falls throughout the race, gets up and reaches the finish line, with everything and his pain, he reached the finish line.

They say that he is now one of the most remembered Olympians, not because he won the competition, but because he won it despite his fall. But he won in the sense that even though he fell, and tore himself up, he won in the sense that everyone… look, they say that nobody remembers who the person who won that competition was, but they do remember him. that fell

He won more in the eyes of the public because despite his accident, he got up and finished the race. So look at you, my brothers, if that illustration doesn't give us something to learn. That despite the falls that one may suffer along the way, whatever your fall, a love frustration, a profession that you wanted to achieve and you did not reach it and you have to settle for something less, I don't know, some frustration financial situation you had, a pastor who promised you something and you are still waiting for the promise and that has you frustrated with the Christian faith in some way or another, so many things that one can mention.

But the point is that when you have your eyes set on Jesus, that should not prevent you from reaching the goal that he has established for you. There's your prize, there's my prize. So my brothers, I encourage you as the Olympics begin, think about the race where God has placed you, how you are running your race.

Forget what is left behind, extend yourself to that supreme prize that Jesus has for you. That for which he reached you, you now reach him. Amen.

We are going to stand up and we are going to pray. Father, I thank you once again tonight for your word, Jesus, your word that is so revealing, your word that educates, that teaches our hearts, Jesus. Father, we ask that you help us to see the value of this word, Lord, at all stages, in the different scenarios of our life, Lord, help us to be able to see you and be able to bring out the value of this word, Lord, for us to be able to move forward, Lord, focusing on you, forgetting what is behind and reaching out to what you have ahead for us, Jesus.

Give us confidence in you, Lord, give us courage, give us strength in you so that we can patiently follow this race that you have outlined for us. You are the author and finisher of our faith. In other words, Lord, you are from the beginning, you are now and you will be with us until the end. May that be enough encouragement for us not to throw in the towel, Lord, not to give up and move on to achieve that supreme prize that you have for our lives.

We bless your name, Lord, bless my brothers and sisters, as they return to their homes. Be with them, take care of them, keep them, Jesus, that it be you intervening in the midst of their lives and that you grant us a restful sleep tonight and that tomorrow, if you allow it, we can get up with new strength, with new courage, even if it is raining or it is sunny, Lord, that we can lay hands on tomorrow and make the most of it for your honor and your glory. In the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Lord, brothers, greet each other. We'll see you next time. Blessings.