Superhero: Never Give Up

 

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If you would rather read this message, the words are provided below…

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This is Part 9 of my Superhero series. In the introduction of this series, I provided the argument that heroes are real and then I distinguished between heroes and superheroes. I also provided a list of what defines a superhero. In Part 1, we learned that superheroes recognize the absolute standard of Good and realize that evil is a mere privation of what is good. In Part 2, we learned that superheroes recognize the absolute moral standard and realize that what is wrong can only be known by the standard of what is right. In Part 3, I defined and expounded upon love because all superheroes are full of love and are compelled to act out from love. In Part 4, I explained that superheroes desire to save people from all forms of danger and/or death and this desire comes from love. In Part 5, we learned that superheroes are solution seekers. In Part 6, we saw that solution seekers are willing to sacrifice if necessary. In Part 7, we saw that sacrificial love steps forward and offers service. In Part 8, we saw that superheroes go above and beyond the call of duty.

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But what good would it do for a superhero to start traveling the extra mile journey if he/she quits halfway through? If we make a commitment to go the extra mile, then we need to follow through and see that we go the distance to complete the second mile. In this message (Part 9), we will see that superheroes might get tripped up and fall down. Superheroes might even get beaten up and knocked down, but they do not stay down! Superheroes never give up! To help us understand this message, let’s examine two examples from real life situations: boxing and racing.

Boxing: Get Back Up!

Muhammad Ali, who is arguably the greatest boxer of all time, said, “You don’t lose if you get knocked down; you lose if you stay down.” One of the greatest victories I’ve ever seen was in the 2005 boxing match of Corrales vs. Castillo. Corrales got knocked down twice in the 10th round, only to get back up and walk away as the winner:

Another one of my favorite boxing matches was the 1990 match of Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglas. Tyson was undefeated and had a 42-0 record. Douglas – the obvious underdog – was knocked down in the 8th round and didn’t even get back up until it was almost too late at the 9-second mark. But in the 10th round, Douglas managed to knock Tyson down and out for the win.

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”
(2Corinthians 4:8-10) –NIV

We are not impervious to attacks from the enemy. We’re going to get tripped up and fall down. We’re going to get beat up and knocked down. Unless you’re Rocky Marciano or Floyd Mayweather, you’re going to experience a loss at some point in your life. But truth be told, even if you are undefeated in life, you can still lose in death. Are you living life in preparation for death? Rocky Marciano died on August 31, 1969 (the eve of his 46th birthday) in a plane crash. Did Marciano go to Heaven or Hell? Only GOD knows. But even conquerers in life can end up being conquered in death. And this is why it is of utmost importance that we never give up and finish the race well. And if I could tell Floyd Mayweather and anyone else currently undefeated only one thing, I would share this:

“For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?”
(Luke 9:25) -ESV

Those who are motivated by money or propelled by the pursuit for power typically stay down if the winnings of their worldly ways comes to an end and they experience a loss. Because if your treasure is only found in this world, you are destined for disappointment.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
(Matthew 6:19-21) -ESV

Where is your heart? If you know your ‘why,’ then you will refuse to lose, you will get back up, and you will never give up. In a post-fight interview with Buster Douglas, it was later revealed that he won the fight against Mike Tyson because his ‘why’ was more powerful than Tyson’s punches. Only 23 days before the legendary fight took place that took Tyson’s “0” and gave him a “1” in his losses, Douglas’ mother died. Before she died, she told Douglas that he was going to beat Mike Tyson. Simply put, love is what won the fight for Douglas. And truth be told, love is what we need to persevere! Love compels us to get back up and never give up. In the amazing 2005 movie, Cinderella Man, based on the boxer, James Walter Braddock, there’s a scene where the press is asking him why he’s winning fights. Russell Crowe (Braddock) states he knows what he’s fighting for: milk. The motivation behind the action was love for his family. This movie showcases the power of the ‘why.’

Racing: Finish The Race!
A man by the name of John Stephen Akhwari represented Tanzania in the marathon at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. He wounded his knee and dislocated a joint in a fall, but he got back up and continued the race. He finished last place. By the time he crossed the finish line, it was dark outside and most of the audience had already gone home. When later interviewed and asked why he continued running, he said, “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”

It was the greatest last place finish ever! John Stephen Akhwari didn’t come in first place in that race; however, he was a winner because he finished the race! There are many people in this world who do not finish the race. In fact, suicide prevents many people from finishing the race. Too many people give up before reaching the finish line.

This world teaches that in order to win we must be first or the greatest. But is that true? Even if you are the last person to arrive in Heaven, you still achieved what others who never arrived never achieved. Last place can most certainly be the best finish. In fact, Jesus told us that those who are now last would be first and the first would be last (Matthew 19:30; 20:16; Mark 10:31; Luke 13:30). Jesus also told us that If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all (Mark 9:35).

When John Stephen Akhwari finally finished the race, it was dark outside and most of the audience had already left. And so it is with life. The majority of people that will be around when you start the race might not be there when you finish. Also, people typically only want to be with you during your greatest moments and tend to disappear during your struggles. And when that happens, it may feel like it’s dark outside and the empty bleachers might make you feel as if no one cares. But the people who truly care about you will stay with you while you are down, struggling, and out of the spotlight. But even if you feel alone and abandoned, know that love will help you finish the race so that you may finish well. Be encouraged: Jesus’ disciples abandoned Him when He got arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:56; Mark 14:50). But Jesus’ love for others was the ‘why’ that compelled Him to finish what He started (John 19:30).

As I have written before in one of my songs, I don’t care to win over the crowd – I’m fulfilling all that I have vowed. With or without audience applause, I’m going to do what I do because I do it for the cause. Love compels me to continue and because of that, I care to finish the race so that I may finish well.

I am grateful for John Stephen Akhwari and for many other people like him for being an inspiration and reminding me of what is truly important in life. Indeed, the struggle is real, but our GOD is greater than our problems. What’s truly important is finishing well.

I may not be the best at anything or ever receive praise for any of my efforts, but if I get knocked down, I will always get back up after I fall. I will not stay down. And even if I get injured along the way, I will finish the marathon that is known as life! GOD did not bring me here to merely start my journey – GOD brought me here to finish the race and to finish well! It doesn’t matter how long it will take me to cross the finish line. The goal is to do my best until my last breath.

Persistence, Purpose, Endurance, Eternity:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
(2Timothy 4:7) -ESV

The apostle Paul wrote these words near the end of his life. These three statements reflect Paul’s struggles in preaching the Gospel of Christ and his victory over those struggles. In the 1st century, the Romans celebrated both the Olympic Games and the Isthmian Games. Competitors would spend up to ten months in demanding and difficult physical training. Because the Corinthians were familiar with these events, Paul used the games as an analogy for a believer’s life of faithfulness. He wrote to the church in Corinth saying, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable” (1Corinthians 9:24-25). Paul’s exhortation is that believers should be as focused and dedicated as those ancient runners in the games. Our motivation in serving Christ is much higher; we “run” not for a temporary crown, but for an eternal one. So, by declaring “I have finished the race,” Paul told Timothy that he had put every effort into the work of proclaiming the Gospel. He had completed the course set before him; he had left nothing undone; he did his best. He was ready to cross the finish line into Heaven. And to finish the race well is to experience victory.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
(Hebrews 12:1-2) -ESV

If we are to finish well, we will need persistence with purpose and endurance for eternity. First, we need purposeful persistence in prayer. In seeking GOD’s will, we will find all we need:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
(Matthew 7:7-11) -ESV

But here is the special stipulation to this promise:

“You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
(James 4:2-3) -ESV

Our desires need to be in alignment with GOD’s will. But knowing GOD takes faith, focus, and follow-through. Jesus promises a reward for the passionate pursuit of seeking GOD’s will. We should be asking ourselves three important questions while being persistent in our prayers:

1. What are you asking for?
2. Why are you asking for it?
3. Will it benefit the Kingdom of GOD?

In order to finish the race well, we also need endurance. In fact, GOD calls us to endure until the end. Each of the seven letters to the churches in the book of Revelation contained a promise to the “victor.” In order to receive the promises, you must be a victor. How do we become a victor? Stay in alignment with GOD’s Word and His absolute moral standard! Keep the faith and endure until the end! The only way to be a victor is to fight the good fight, endure it until the end, and finish the race. Everyone who finishes the race will be exhausted, but they will also come into rest. Just as GOD rested from His work on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2), we too will come into rest on our ‘seventh day.’ We can picture this life here on Earth as our six days of work and the New Earth under the new heavens will be our seventh day of rest. Everything we accomplish in life here on this Earth within our ‘six days’ falls short of perfection. It is only in our ‘seventh day’ that we will come into perfection and receive rest. Along with the good news of Christ’s return and ultimate victory, the main theme found in the book of Revelation running parallel to the good news is that we must endure until the very end, remaining faithful and obedient (Matthew 10:28; 1Corinthians 9:24-27; Philippians 3:14-16; 1Timothy 6:11-16; 2Timothy 4:3-5; Hebrews 10:35-39; 2Peter 1:5-11; Revelation 3:16).

Conclusion:
Remember: opportunistic predators wait until either you are too weak to fight or complacent and cannot see the attack coming. Demons don’t need to beat you while you are at your best; rather, demons simply need to slowly chip away at your defense until you become too tired and weak to defend yourself.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
(1Peter 5:6-10) -ESV

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”
(James 4:7-8) -ESV

Satan only cares about the outcome, the final decision. Do not give up. Do not ever give up. We are in it to win it. It’s not over until it’s over. We must finish well. Starting is pointless unless we finish. We must fight the good fight. Get back up, go back in. Love never dies (1Corinthians 13:8).

GOD passionately pursues us with the mission of relentless rescue. And if we are to accurately reflect the love of Christ, we need to go above and beyond in love and endure until the end.

“Bow down to the Lord. He will lift you up.”
(James 4:10) –NIRV

“When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”
(Ephesians 3:14-21) -NLT

The person who kneels humbly before GOD can stand up confidently in the name of Christ and resist the devil and watch him flee. GOD provides us with a way to escape temptations and to live through any circumstance until He calls us Home (1Corinthians 10:13; Philippians 4:11-13). Never give up!

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
(Galatians 6:9) -NLT

Listen! If I can’t inspire you, then I’ll just let Shia LaBeouf do it:

The Noose & The Torch

 

Hanging was a popular death sentence in the past and it is still used in some places today. Although a death sentence for some, there are many people who use the noose for suicide.

(Does suffering lead to suicidal thoughts? So why is there suffering?)

But if you think about it, the noose never kills anyone; on the contrary, people kill themselves while in the noose. The noose that hangs from the gallows is stationary – it doesn’t move. The noose doesn’t have to do anything to kill someone because the human’s body weight is what ultimately causes the person to become asphyxiated and die. Either that or the person’s neck breaks. But either way, the person dies due to the weight of his/her earthly body while unable to escape from within the noose.

Just as the weight of the human body pulls a person down to a physical death within the noose, our sins pull us down as well. (Is there an absolute moral standard?) However, sin pulls us to something much worse. Our sins don’t just cause us to die a physical death; consequently, our sins pull us down to an eternity without GOD. (Does a Creator GOD exist?) An eternity without GOD is also known as Hell. (What about Hell?)

The human makes decisions and choices that are either evil or good. (What about evil?) An evil choice moves him/her closer to the noose. A good choice moves him/her further away from the noose. If left unchecked, your sins will weave themselves together into a rope that will then become your noose. So, why choose to do evil and create your own noose?

Many people like to blame others for their own mistakes. Most of the time, the blame people put on others isn’t justified. Well, maybe it was someone else’s fault at one point. Maybe you had gotten molested, or raped, or abandoned. Maybe you have a horrible past where horrible things happened to you. Moreover, those horrible things that happened to you probably changed you at that time. However, all blame has an expiration date. Eventually, each person needs to take responsibility for his/her own life. You have to decide if you’re going to allow your past to dictate your future. Your decisions today determines your tomorrow.

You might have a horrible past, but you can use that as a landmark or guiding post to help direct you to where you need to go. How can you appreciate where you are going unless you know where you came from? (Is evolution true?) The first book of Chronicles helps us to be more grateful of where we are going by helping us understand where we came from. (Creation in question: One and two) All people of greatness throughout The Bible understood where they came from – GOD! They came from GOD-Almighty! GOD-of-the-angel-armies! The GOD of miracles and restoration! (Miracles or myths?)

From the very beginning, Adam & Eve, to Noah, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob (Israel), to Moses, to David, to Solomon, etc… All of the great people understood they were from a generation guided by the love of GOD. They took the torch of righteous living that was passed on to them and they kept it burning. They didn’t allow the fiery passion to burn out.

The people who didn’t understand eventually dwindled and died out just like a flame would dwindle and die out without oxygen to keep it burning. Actually, fire needs three things to keep it burning: oxygen, fuel, and heat. And just like the flame that needs the trinity, we also need the Trinity: GOD, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. And all the people who didn’t understand the triangle of necessity didn’t keep the torch that was passed down to them lit. They didn’t allow GOD in their lives; therefore, the torch was extinguished. The torch is our guiding light; without it, we walk aimlessly in the dark.

And then there were also people who had been handed a torch that was not lit, but they possessed the wisdom necessary to realize it was ignorant to carry a torch that wasn’t lit. Therefore, they sought out the guiding light – GOD. GOD is our lighthouse when we are sailing in the darkness. GOD is the only One who can light an unlit torch.

We need to understand that we have all come from a chosen people at one point. Even if your torch is unlit at this very moment, it can be ignited once again. If your torch is unlit, that means that someone in your past allowed it to dwindle and die out. All you need to do is ask Jesus Christ into your life so that it can be lit up once again. And once you get that torch lit again, you must do whatever it takes to keep that fire from going out. That torch will only stay lit with fire as long as our passion burns within us.

Genealogy is difficult to track if you don’t already have the information. There’s a lot of searching involved in order to find out where you came from. But it’s more important that we realize we are all traced back to Jesus Christ! I’m not saying that each of our ancestors came from Jesus himself, but I am reminding you that Jesus died for our ancestors just like He died for us. If we understand where we came from, then we will have a great appreciation for where we are going.

So… where did you come from? A family of liars? Abusive alcoholics? Drug addicts? Murderers? Or maybe your family just wasn’t involved and didn’t care. Well, once you know where you came from, you’ll know where you are currently headed. If you learned life from your family and your family has a history of being in prison, you stand a good chance of going to prison because you learned how to live life from people with captivity in their hearts. But is that the path that you want to travel down? Do you want to be like your ancestors who ended up in prison? Do you want to be like your ancestors who ended up hurting a lot of people because of their selfish desires?

If you have it in you, go ahead and trace your family back in time to see where you came from. However, you don’t have to do that in order to appreciate where you’re going. You can appreciate where you’re going as long as you understand where you have been yourself. But knowing where all the rest of your family has been can help build the amount of gratefulness within you even more so. Does your family have a history of violence and ignorance? It doesn’t have to continue with you.

“Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their parents. Each person shall be put to death for his own sin.”

(Deuteronomy 24:16) -MSG

It doesn’t matter where you came from or who you came from. It doesn’t matter if your parents were abusive, drug addicts, perverts, or even murderers – you are accountable for your own actions. You make your own choices; you make your own decisions. If your parents weren’t good people, understand that you don’t have to end up like them. You don’t have to end up like anyone who has ever been a bad influence in your life. Your life is determined by your choices and your decisions. You only have one life to do right; however, you have many chances within that one lifetime to correct mistakes. You get to choose how you end up: bitter or better. No one else decides your inner disposition but you. GOD declares that you are your own person (under GOD’s authority).

There’s no such thing as a ‘murderer gene’ that gets passed down from generation to generation. There’s no such thing as an ‘alcoholic gene’ or a ‘drug addict gene.’ GOD did not create us to fail – only you can allow exterior circumstances to deteriorate your inner disposition. No one can drag you to Hell with them; likewise, no one can bring you to Heaven with them. It’s up to you. You will end up precisely where you direct yourself to travel. Remember what GOD once told Cain: “If you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.”

(Genesis 4:7) -MSG

Your decisions determine your direction and what you reflect on determine your decisions. (Who or what do you reflect?) Cain chose to murder Abel and ruined his own life by doing so. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah chose not to listen to GOD and ended up destroying themselves. Aaron chose to create a golden calf when Moses disappeared and he then suffered the consequences of his choice. Samson chose to lust after someone who wasn’t a woman of GOD and he ended up getting his eyes gouged out, chained up and imprisoned. But Samson also chose to sacrifice himself to destroy the lives of many evil people in order to save many good people. Rahab the harlot chose to believe in faith and to do what was right despite the threat of war around her. Ruth chose to listen to her mother-in-law, Naomi, and because Ruth heeded the advice of a loved one, Ruth found her husband. David chose to overcome doubt and fear and he then conquered the giant. David chose not to kill Saul in the cave even though he could have done so. David also chose to lust after Bathsheba and send her husband off in the front lines of war to be killed and he then received a curse. (Does sex matter?) But David ultimately always chose to repent and restore his relationship with GOD after each wrong decision. Every person in the Bible that received a miracle from either the prophets or Jesus first chose to have faith. Joseph chose to follow his dream even though everyone mocked him, but he ended up saving many lives and reuniting his family in the process. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego chose to stay strong in faith despite a death sentence of being burned alive by King Nebuchadnezzar and their faith ended up saving them. Judas chose to betray Jesus and he ended up in the noose.

All people must make choices. All choices have consequences, whether good or bad. I challenge you to make good choices. Why create your own noose? Perhaps this will be the first time in a long time you’ve made a good choice. Perhaps today will be redemption for the bad choice you just recently made. You alone can change the direction of your family’s future by merely changing your direction and walking in alignment with GOD’s will.

Whatever you do, make sure that you do not pass the torch to your children unless it is lit. Great people break bad streaks in family lines! This is your time to shine! If you pass down an unlit torch, you are passing down the burden of confusion and doubt. The Chosen have been keeping the torch lit since Adam & Eve. The Darkness Dwellers have been trying to put out the flames of hope since then as well. Many great people have died so that the light will shine on into the darkness after they were gone. It’s been a continuous battle…

Where did you come from? I’ll tell you where you came from: GOD! Where do you stand? I’ll tell you where you stand: you stand at the crossroads of good and evil, of life and death. Which way will you choose to travel? It’s your choice. It’s your decision. But I challenge you to consummate your decision to pass a torch that is lit. In order to truly live, you must reverse evil… E-V-I-L ↪️→ L-I-V-E. It’s called ‘evil’ because it is life lived backwards.

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!”

(Deuteronomy 30:19) -NLT

“There are two paths before you; you may take only one path. One doorway is narrow. And one door is wide. Go through the narrow door. For the wide door leads to a wide path, and the wide path is broad; the wide, broad path is easy, and the wide, broad, easy path has many, many people on it; but the wide, broad, easy, crowded path leads to death. Now then that narrow door leads to a narrow road that in turn leads to life. It is hard to find that road. Not many people manage it.”

(Matthew 7: 13-14) -Voice

“There’s a way of life that looks harmless enough; look again—it leads straight to hell. Sure, those people appear to be having a good time, but all that laughter will end in heartbreak.”

(Proverbs 14: 12-13) -MSG

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

(Proverbs 3: 5-6) -NLT

“But if you are unwilling to obey the Lord, then decide today whom you will obey…. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

(Joshua 24:15) -TLB

“Make no mistake: God can’t be mocked. What you give is what you get. What you sow, you harvest. Those who sow seeds into their flesh will only harvest destruction from their sinful nature. But those who sow seeds into the Spirit shall harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.”

(Galatians 6: 7-8) -Voice

“But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we’ve done wrong.”

(1 John 1:9) -CEB

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.’ ”

(Jeremiah 29: 11-13) -NLT

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

(Matthew 7:7-8) -NLT

If you feel as if you’ve made bad choices and you’re walking yourself into the noose, call out to Jesus Christ and repent and ask for forgiveness and a fresh start. If you have been carrying an unlit torch and need the light of Jesus Christ to ignite the flame in your torch, call out to Jesus and ask our Lord and Savior into your heart. GOD can give you a clean slate! Your new life begins right now! Go forth away from the noose and hold your lit torch up high!