Champions of Faith
Champions of Faith
The Christian life is often described as a race, one that calls for perseverance, focus, and strength. It is not always easy, but it is worth running with determination because of the joy and hope set before us. To run well and finish strong, there are three key principles to embrace.
First, we must be tenacious. Just as athletes remove every weight that slows them down, we too are called to strip away sin, distractions, and unhealthy habits. Tenacity means pressing on even when life feels heavy, refusing to give up, and relying on God’s strength to carry us forward.
Second, we must be transfixed on Jesus. Where our eyes rest, our hearts will follow. When we focus on Christ as the author and perfecter of our faith, we gain courage and joy, even in hardship. Like Peter walking on the water, we are sustained when our gaze is on Jesus, but we falter when we are distracted by the waves of life.
Third, we must be twisted together in community. A rope gains strength from many strands bound tightly together, and in the same way our faith is strengthened when we are connected to Christ and to one another. Fellowship, prayer, and encouragement keep us steady when we struggle.
By being tenacious, keeping our focus on Jesus, and walking closely with fellow believers, we can endure with hope and finish the race of faith strong.
-
Champions of Faith: Running the Race with Endurance
Have you ever wondered what it takes to be someone who stands strong when life gets tough? A person whose faith doesn’t crumble under pressure but grows deeper and steadier with time? Scripture reminds us that the life of faith is like running a race. It isn’t a sprint that’s over quickly, but a marathon that requires training, focus, and endurance.
The great stories of faith in the Bible are not written merely for admiration; they are there to inspire us. They remind us that ordinary people, empowered by God, can finish their race well. And the same call rests on us today: not to settle for half-hearted faith, but to become champions of faith.
What Does It Mean to Be a Champion of Faith?
A champion of faith isn’t someone who avoids hardship. It’s someone who perseveres through it. Challenges, trials, and disappointments are part of life, but what makes a champion is the ability to keep running, to stay focused on Jesus, and to remain deeply connected to the family of God.
The journey of faith can be strengthened by three key commitments:
Get Tenacious with Christ
Athletes know they must remove unnecessary weight to run freely. In the same way, we are called to strip away sin and distractions that weaken us. Spiritual tenacity means more than starting with enthusiasm; it means finishing well. Like Paul, we are invited to discipline ourselves spiritually, removing anything that entangles us and committing to run with endurance.
Ask yourself: What burdens are slowing me down? What habits or distractions make me spiritually weak? Champions of faith are those who keep pressing forward, even when it costs them.
Get Transfixed on Jesus
Where we place our attention shapes our lives. When Peter walked on water, he succeeded only as long as his eyes were on Jesus. The moment he looked at the waves, he began to sink. In the same way, our faith flourishes when our gaze is fixed on Christ.
Temporary pleasures, money, success, or even worries can easily become our focus, but they never satisfy. Only Jesus is worthy of being at the centre of our devotion. His joy carried Him through the cross, and His endurance in suffering reminds us we are never alone in ours. When we are transfixed on Him, He gives us the strength to persevere.
Get Twisted Together with Christ and His People
Faith was never meant to be a solo effort. Isaiah speaks of those who “wait upon the Lord” — a phrase rooted in a Hebrew word that means to be twisted together, like strands of rope. This picture shows us how faith grows stronger when we are bound closely to Christ and to each other.
We need both a personal relationship with Jesus through prayer, worship, and His Word, and meaningful connections with other believers. Community sustains us when we feel weak. Like a marathon runner supported by others along the route, we are carried further by encouragement, prayer, and fellowship than we could ever manage alone.
Life Application
Becoming a champion of faith is not about perfection; it’s about perseverance. This week, consider these questions:
What distractions or sins do I need to strip away so I can run more freely?
Where is my focus? Am I fixing my eyes on Jesus, or on the storms around me?
How twisted together am I with Christ and His people? Am I investing in both personal devotion and community life?
Take one step in each area — let go of a hindrance, develop a new habit of focusing on Jesus, and reach out to someone in faith community.
Remember, you are not running this race alone. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in you. God sees you as a champion of faith. Will you see yourself that way too?
-
A discussion guide for the sermon can be found here.
-
All right, who's ready for the word? Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. We're going to go to Hebrews chapter 12.
And Hebrews chapter 12. We're Going to go to Hebrews 12.
Ah, gone. I thought they were winding me up before it even started. I'm like, it's not older call time yet, guys. Anyway, we're going to get into it. So Hebrews chapter 12.
So we're going to read these verses. And these verses are preceded by one of the most famous chapters in the Bible. It's called Hebrews chapter 11. It's called various names, but some people call it the Great hall of Faith or the hall of Fame. And Hebrews chapter 11, my Bible here says great examples of faith.
And what happens is the author lists off some of these mighty men and women of God who've done great things. Some of the great heroes of the Bible, you know, Moses and Abraham and Joshua. And then you've got, you know, others in here. You've got people like Ruth and some others that are mentioned. Joseph and people that talked about Rahab, sorry, that's mentioned about saving the Israelite people and opening a door.
And then it's got some whole unnamed people, people that you don't know their names, but it says they went through great persecution, and yet they held onto their faith and they were. They stayed men and women of God, even though they didn't see the. The end goal come to pass. They're the reason we're here. They're the reason we're here.
And so this. This passage I want to talk about in. In these few verses in chapter 12 is preceded by that. And he. And he references that.
And so today I want to talk about this topic. I want to talk about being champions of faith. Champions of faith. Because chapter 11 is not just there to tell us, look at all these great people. Chapter 11 is there to say, hey, you can be one of them.
You're supposed to be one of. This is what I love about the Bible. This is what I love about God. He doesn't just say, look at these great people and follow them and be like them. He.
He says, you're called to be One of those people. That's your destiny, that's your calling, to be a son and daughter of God, to be a champion of faith, to be someone that holds steady and strong and is an example when everything else falls away. Don't you want to be that person? Some of us don't have that expectation. I want to tell you, God wants to give you that expectation.
He wants you to be a champion of faith. And so we're going to read this passage, Hebrews 12, verse 1. It says this. Therefore, we've just heard about these great men and women of God. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up, and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects us our faith because of the joy awaiting him. He endured the cross disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people. Then you won't become weary and give up.
After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. I want to talk to you today about being a champion of faith. I want to talk about three things if we're going to be people that run our race. This passage talks about running a race and running a race to finish that race strong, to finish it strong and finish it well. And we want to talk about that today.
Because who here wants to be a person that is called, considered to be a person of great faith, to be a person that you say, when they look back on your life, go, there's an awesome example. They live their life for Jesus and they followed him and they stood for things that were important and valuable. And when hardship came, they stood strong and they didn't give up. We all want that. We all want that.
And yet it's so easy to let life dwindle us down and get tired and go. And so I want to give you three things today that if we're going to be champions of faith, if you're going to be people that the Bible expects us and calls us to, to be. And I want to tell you it's not time to be a half baked, I use that word sometimes. Half baked, half, sort of just mediocre Christian. This is not God's calling on your life.
You're not called to just have faith as a part of your Life as a little percentage. You're called to be a champion of faith. You're called to be strong in your faith. You're called to be. To have confidence in your faith in God, a confidence in Jesus, and you live that out, should show in your life, how are you going to be that person?
This passage talks about this. And so I want to go through it. I want to give you three things that we need to consider and that we need to put into practice in our lives. And as I'm going through them, I want you to think, how can I implement this in a greater way in my life? Am I implementing this?
And how can I implement it more? What other things the Holy Spirit is challenging me on that I need to focus on? Because like we heard last week, faith without works is dead. Faith doesn't exist. If you just hear something, it needs to be action.
What does God want you to action? As we talk about this, the first one is this.
The first thing I want to say is if we're going to be champions of faith, if we're going to run our race well, if we're going to finish our race with strength, we need to get tenacious with Jesus Christ. We need to be tenacious. We need to be. This word, I love this word. It means to be determined, determined, persistent.
I'm not giving in. Who knows, you know, when you think that person's tenacious and sometimes we get. It's like that person just. They will not let something go. And sometimes that's a really good thing.
And sometimes it's not so good. It's like sometimes we're just saying, just let it go, let it go. People tell me that sometimes just let that issue go. You don't need. You don't need to be so tenacious.
But we need to be tenacious about Jesus, never letting him go. This is what this passage says. It says here, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up, and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. It's one thing to start something well, isn't it? We can all do that.
I've started many things. I know all of us here. We've started things well with enthusiasm and extreme excitement. It's another thing to finish those things well. Being tenacious for Jesus means I don't start something well.
I continue it well. I'm determined and I finish what I started. If I have faith in Christ, I continue it on. We've all been in a place where we wilt and we crumble. I've been there.
I think I've told you before. I used to play tennis when I was in high school school. And every now and then, I'll pick up the racket and play and, you know, I can still beat my sister. You know, she's. She's determined.
She's going to beat me. She's my younger sister. I can still beat her. And none of us practice. And then she's like, I'm going to beat you this time.
I'm like, how? You haven't played for ages. Neither have I. That we're the same level. And so.
But that's not a high praise, right? I can beat my sister. Who cares? But I used to be in high school, and I would play and I'd be down. Like, I'd be put into this group, and I was a bit overweight, and I wasn't that.
That fit. But I was decent. I was decent. I could hit the ball well. I had.
I. I was. I was confident. I could serve all right. I could have decent forehand, sort of slice the backhand. And I'd go out on that court and I would start, like, with great strength, and I'd be smashing it and like, well, sometimes smashing.
Hitting a winner. And I'll be like, two love up. Three love up. I'm like, yes, this is awesome. And then the sun would come out and the heat would hit the court, and I'd been running back and forward, and suddenly my fitness levels hit me.
I don't have any energy. I don't have enough. And suddenly I started to wilt. And that 3 love became 3 love 40 love up, became juice, became advantage, became 31 became 3 2. The guy on the other end of the court, I still remember some of these games smiling as he could see.
I just have to hit the ball over there and then hit it over that side, and this guy can't run anymore, and I'm gonna win. And I remember being in these matches where I realized I don't have the strength. I don't have the tenaciousness anymore. I've lost my energy. I've lost my oomph.
And I would end up losing some of these matches because I could not finish what I started. Started. And it feels terrible. I went and played golf. I thought, maybe golf's for me.
It's not for me.
Because I'll tell you what happens with golf. I know some of you guys like golf, and some of us, you're like me. Golf takes a lot of tenacious patience and determination. You know what I discovered? I was only on a three par course, and I'd hit it, and I'd slice it off here, and I'd slice it off, it off there.
I got so ticked, I went, forget this. I threw out the woods. I threw out the irons. I picked out the putter, and I teed off with a putter. And I'm like, that's the only.
This is the only thing I just spat on here. That's all right. I didn't get anyone here, so it's all right. My daughter's there going, oh, dad, this is embarrassing. I teed off with the putter, and I smashed it as hard as I could.
And then I. And I ended up hitting 20 shots to get this thing in the thing. And then I just thought, forget it. I flung my putter away and I walked off the golf course. I remember doing that.
I don't know if I've walked back because I could not see it out because I wasn't tenacious. And I go, we do this sometimes. We wilt because of what happens in our lives, because things get hard, the pain gets too much. And sometimes we just don't have the moral fortitude. We don't have the.
The ability to say, we just spit the dummy. I know people in church have spat the dummy on their Christian faith, and they've said, forget this. And I go, if you do that, we are not. You are not going to be a champion of faith. God needs tenacious people.
And this is what this author says. This is what I love about it. He's not just saying, look at the great men and women of faith. He's saying, you're called to be one of them. So what do you need to do?
Says, strip off every weight that slows us down. What are the weights in your life that are stopping you? Be a person of faith, of following Jesus, of being tenacious and whole. What are the things that are distracting you? Other passages in the Bible, they talk about weeds, the weeds of this life, the pleasures of life, the troubles this life brings in this metaphor, this example here is talking about stripping, ripping off these weights so that we can follow God.
And he says this, especially the sin that so easily entangles us. What are the things you're allowing in your life that you know aren't good and you think they're gonna be fine, but you know what? They're making you weak. They're making you want to give up when things get tough. It's hard to keep going when you've got all these weights and this garbage going on in your life.
Are you tenacious for the Lord? Listen to these scriptures that challenge me. In 1 Corinthians 9, the apostle Paul gives us the same example of running. 1 Corinthians 9, 24. Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize?
So run to win. All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. Step.
I'm not just shadow boxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others, I myself might be disqualified. He says in Philippians 3, verse, let's go to verse 13, says, no, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it. But I focus on this one thing, forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.
I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the. The heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is calling us. Can I tell you, brothers and sisters, I want to applaud you when you've been tenacious, when some of you are being tenacious. Right now you're saying, I don't care what I'm facing, I'm going to follow Jesus Christ. I'm going to stand for Christ in my household, in my family.
I know it's hard. I know there's tough. Can I tell you this? The Bible, these passages were written when life was far tougher than we have today. Remember that?
Remember that? They were facing prison and death and dying early and having loved ones. They didn't have the medicine we have. They didn't have the. All the other stuff that we have now.
And they said this, and I'll go, if they can do it, we can do it. You can do it. Stand strong, be tenacious. God, what do I need to strip off that's causing me to lose focus on running my race for you? And then take those things and say, God help me.
It's not because God's trying to condemn you. He's trying to help you. He wants to help you be the man and woman of God. He's called you to be. I thank God there's so many tenacious people in our church, people that I do call champions of faith.
Come on. We all want to be those people. I want to be one of them. God wants you to be one of them. The second thing is this.
He comes in and he says, Right. You ought to be tenacious. You want to be a great champion of faith. Faith. You want to live your life and you want to be an example to your kids and others.
You got to be tenacious. You got to hold on. You got to have perseverance. Well, how? Well, he tells us in verse 2.
How do I do that? He says, we do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. The second thing is we need to get transfixed on Jesus Christ. Christ. We need to get transfixed on Jesus, who knows that what you look at becomes what you think about, affects your actions.
You start to become like them that you look and you go, ah. And I go, we need to be people, Christians. We need to be people that are in love with the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to be people that are transfixed on him. Not just.
Just going, yeah, I'm a follower of Christ. Yeah, yeah, it's all right. I've grown up with it. Or, I found him. No, we need to be people who are obsessed.
Obsessed. Do you want to live the Christian life and be a champion of faith? You need to be obsessed with Jesus. In love with Jesus. Look at the Bible, the Apostle Paul, the author of Hebrews Peter, they were obsessed with Jesus Christ.
They were transfixed from on him. Because when you're transfixed on him and in love with him, it'll change everything about it. It'll help you run your race straight. Think about being transfixed and obsessed with someone. And I think of my dog Ollie, who's got a dog like my dog Ollie Cavalier.
You know what I'm talking about. If you own a dog. I'm talking. They are. They are obsessed.
They get transfixed. And I feel quite humbled by. I'm like, ollie, I know you're just a dog, mate. I'm not as good as you think. Adrian, you're the best.
You're the best. You're the best. That's what his eyes tell you, isn't it? Your dog? He sits there.
Whatever I'm doing, when I come home, I go to the toilet, whatever I'm doing, wherever I'm going, he'll sit there and he'll follow me, and he'll just sit and he'll just look up and be like, you're the greatest ever, Adrian. Adrian, you are my bestest ever friend. And whatever you do is amazing. And I'll follow you anywhere, and I'm just happy that I get to be in your presence. This is amazing.
And it doesn't Just. You think he'd get sick of it. They don't get sick of it. They're just like, you're amazing and you're amazing every day. And I just.
This is awesome. And you're the one for me. He might just be. They might have a secret dog society. They're all pulling the wool over our eyes and they're making us think this.
But that's how we feel, isn't it? Oh, you're so good. I go, it doesn't matter what I do. It doesn't matter when I've told him off. And, like, I haven't.
We, you know, we didn't take him for a walk or whatever. And then I tell him off because he's got too much energy. And it's like he still thinks we're amazing. He's transfixed on me and go. I look at him sometimes and I honestly, I think I go.
He looks at me the way I'm supposed to look at Jesus. Except in this particular case, I've got a few more brain cells going on and a bit more understanding. And I'll go, Jesus doesn't have any faults. He doesn't have any. He doesn't let me down.
He's not the one. He didn't. He doesn't forget about me or tell me off or forget. I'll go. I don't have time for you right now.
Jesus Christ is perfection. He is. You want to be. Here's the thing. Thing, guys.
You want to be transfixed on something in your life. You want to find. I've been looking for something my whole life. I want something to go. I want all my focus to be on that.
And it has to be perfect. It has to be worth it. It has to be worth my life. It has to be worth. Give me meaning for my existence.
I've only found one thing, one person that is worth that in my life, and it's Jesus Christ. I want you to think about it for a second. What else? Who else is worth your being transfixed on is money. What a load of garbage.
We know this. Fame, popularity, pleasure. And yet some of us allow ourselves. This is what sin is, brothers and sisters. Sin is the deception that transfixing your gaze on something else is going to give you meaning and purpose and life, and it won't.
You're looking for a relationship and you transfix some of us. We fall in love with someone, well, they're the answer and they're not the answer.
It's a beautiful thing. We need relationship. I'm going to talk about that in a minute. That's good. Relationships are good, but they're not worth transfixing your gaze upon for your whole existence.
There's only one. It's Jesus Christ. Christ. This is the revelation. This is what you've got to understand about Christianity, brothers and sisters.
That we are not an option and a way of living that is one of many. That Jesus Christ is the way. He is the truth. He is the life, that there is no life found in him. There's no way to come to God to find.
What does that mean? No way to come to the Father, Jesus. Jesus said, except through Jesus Christ. Except through me. What that means?
There is no way to find true meaning and to find the source of all being and to find the. The very reason for your existence other than through Jesus Christ. We are not one option of. We're not one religious option among. Among many.
We're not a nice way of living because, hey, it makes you treat people nicely and makes you kind. This is not what Christian Christianity is. Christian faith is saying, I have found the one and only worth following and transfixing my life on and dedicating everything to.
And so as I'm. I'm caught with this because that's, that's the only way I can see my Christian faith. I'm not here to say, hey, let's all, you know, make ourselves all comfortable and make us all feel happy. I'm here to follow Jesus with all my heart. I'm here to transfix my gaze upon him.
And I want to tell you, you will not be a champion of faith unless you do it. You will not stay on the path. You will not finish your race well, unless you transfix your gaze on Jesus because there's too much other garbage out there. Some of us are transfixed on the hurt and the pain that's caused us. The longer you focus on that, the further off of God's plan you'll get, the less faith you'll have, the less hope you'll have.
Where does faith, joy, hope, where do all these things come from? They come from Jesus Christ. They are the fruits of the spirit, the spirit of Christ that lives in us. Those things, they are the fruits, fruit of transfixing your attention on someone that is worth it. So I want to ask you, how transfixed are you on Jesus?
How transfixed are you on the Son of God who gave it all for you? This passage goes further and we don't have too much time to talk about the depths of it. But he gives us a couple of things that we can. When we transfix on Jesus. We can.
Can see, says because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross disregarding its shame. Do you want to be happy? Do you want to be. Do you want to have well being? Do you want to have joy in your heart?
We all do. That's okay. It's a good thing. Your wellbeing is important. You being happy is important.
If you're not happy, then others around us aren't happy. We can't. We don't do well as human beings when we don't have joy in us.
The way to have joy is to look at Jesus. Joy doesn't come from a holiday. I've discovered this in my life. People go, you looking forward to holidays? I go, I think so.
But you know what happens to me on holidays? Some of you will be like me. I've planned it all out. And then I stress because I'm outside of home, and I stress about all the things that could go slightly wrong. And then I don't feel comfortable because I'm not in my nice, in comfort place where I like to be.
And it's like. So I end up. Sometimes I get more stressed on holidays. And I'll go. I know.
Well, that's Steve's idea. Just don't plan it. That's Narelle. That's what she does. She just goes, you plan it, honey, and I'll enjoy it and I'll go, you know what?
I've made a determine. I'm going to try and enjoy it this time. But I've realized, realize this. A holiday is not gonna make me happy. It's part of that.
But if that's what I'm focused on, it's not gonna make me happy. You know what I've discovered makes me happy. The only thing that truly feeds my soul is when I fix my gaze on Jesus and I start to dwell on him and think about what's important. What's important. I wanna tell you the joy that was set before him.
When I look at Jesus, I see there is a greater joy than this world can bring. Jesus did not have holidays. He didn't have all this other stuff. He was even being crucified. And yet there was a joy.
You don't need positive thinking books. I mean, they can be helpful. But I want to tell you the greatest way to be a positive thinker and have faith and have joy is to look at Jesus, and he will show you what's truly important. And he will tell you some of the worries you're worried about actually don't matter. Some of the things you're worried about.
The Lord Jesus tells you, why are you worried about it? Don't you trust me? Look at Jesus and you'll start to trust him. More joy in him. And then the other thing it says to.
To us because of the joy awaiting him. So there's, there's a positiveness there. And it says, there now he's seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Then it says in verse three, think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people. Then you won't become weary and give up.
So I love this part as well, because he's like, hey, think about the joy that Jesus had. Look at him and think about his joy that was in his heart. He'll give that to you as well. But also, so when you're going through a hard time, when you're struggling, when something goes wrong in your life, think about Jesus then. And you think about all the rubbish that he went through.
And then you'll realise he understands pain. Because it's not all, you know, fairy floss and, you know, roundabouts and whatever merry go rounds and fun and going to Disneyland, is it? In life there's some tough, tough, tough things. And Jesus is there for you in those tough moments. Think of all the.
We think the opposite. Don't think negative. Don't think about anything negative. No, he's telling us, think about all the rubbish that Jesus went through. I do that sometimes when I'm feeling down, I go, jesus, what did you go through?
Oh, you got betrayed by the closest people to you. Basically you got murdered by the people that you were serving, that you were saying you that were in the same religious belief. They were saying they were Jewish people. He was teaching the Word in the synagogues. Those very people plotted to kill him and succeeded.
You went through the pain of crucifixion, of being rid of. He went through more than I'll ever go through in my life. Think of that hostility. And you know what it makes me think when I'm going through a bad time. Jesus, you understand it, you got through it.
I can too. Lord, give me strength. Lord, help me. I'm not feeling great, but you can help me. That's what happens when you transfix your eyes on Jesus Christ.
And it is time, brothers and sisters, that we stop looking to the left and to the right and to the fun of this world and the pain of this world. And we looked to Jesus, if you do that, you will get through and you will be a champion of faith. That's my promise to you. That's the Word's promise to you, but it's your choice. Think about Peter.
Peter when he walked on water. If you read. We don't have time to go to that Scripture, but it's a very good example. Jesus calls. He sees Jesus on the water, and Jesus calls him to him.
And what does he do? He says, he stepped out of the boat and he walked towards Jesus, looking at Christ, looking at Jesus. And he was walking and he was. He overcame the natural world. He overcame the issues of this world.
A miracle happened because he was looking at Christ, transfixed on Jesus. And then it's. You know what it says? It says, but then the winds came up and the waves came up and he looked down and he saw the winds and the way, you know what happened to him. He saw his circumstances, he saw what was going on.
And it says, he started to sink. And I want to tell you this. When you look down at your circumstance, at what that, what this world has to offer, you will start to sink spiritually. It is a. It is a guarantee.
The only way to live the Christian life is to look up and transfix your gaze on Jesus Christ. Look to his example, look to his life, and let him lift you above your circumstances. He can do it for all of us, and he can do it for you. The third thing is this.
We go right back to the start of this passage that I talked about from chapter 11. It says, therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith. So this is. I want to go right back to the start because it's talking about having endurance, right? We've got to get tenacious and run race and not give up.
It's talking about, as we're running, transfix your gaze on Jesus Christ and don't take your eyes off him. But before you do those things, there's some preparation. There's some preparation time. And the preparation has started way back. He said, let me tell you about all the other people of faith that are surrounding you, that you are enveloped by, that you're twisted together with.
And it reminded me of a passage in Isaiah where it talks about this, this waiting upon the Lord and what happens in the preparation time that prepares us to run our race strong. The third point I have is this to say, we need to get tenacious with Jesus. We need to get transfixed with Jesus. We need to get twisted. Twisted With Jesus twisted together.
I'll tell you why. Let me go to Isaiah, chapter 40. Talking about these great hall of faith and people surrounding us, us both in the present and in our past. Isaiah 40, verse 29. Many of you will know this passage.
He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow, grow weary.
They will walk and not faint. Those who trust in the Lord. Many of you would know that passage in a different version. Those who wait upon the Lord. Those who wait upon the Lord.
It's an interesting word, because I was looking this up recently. Is that. What does it mean to wait upon the Lord? That word actually is covered, cover in Hebrew. To wait.
Its root meaning. I was surprised by this. It's this idea to wait upon. To sort of be enveloped by. To sort of be in the presence of.
And there's this idea of it like a rope, waiting and trusting, being entwined together. You know, strands of a rope. You can create this strength because you twist them together and they become enmeshed together. They're twisted. It's this idea of being twisted together like rope, strands in trust and waiting.
It's not just, I'm gonna wait here, God, you better come through. I'm waiting. It's not that. It's not that word. It's not those who wait.
Those who just stand around going, oh, I've got to be patient. I've got to wait, wait. It's this idea of being enveloped within God. Those who wait upon the Lord, those who are twisted deeply, intimately with God. You're wound together with the Lord.
That's why other versions say to trust those who trust. Because what does trust mean? Trust. You can't trust someone unless you're enveloped within. It's like a marriage, isn't it?
How can you trust in a marriage unless you've been enveloped? And there's an intimacy, there's a twisting together.
You gotta be twisted together with Jesus Christ. Since we're surrounded by so many witnesses of faith, let us wait. Let us trust. Let us be twisted together with Jesus. And there's two parts to that.
The first part is obvious. It's taught. Talking about your personal relationship with Jesus, right? Be twisted with him. That makes sense, right?
You can be first time in church. That makes sense. Unless you know someone, you can't trust them unless you are intimate personally with that person and can know their heart and they can know your heart. You can't trust them. You can't wait.
You can't be twisted together. So we need to do that. Are you doing that in your life? Are you giving Jesus moments and time where you can be twisted with him? We've talked about it.
Pastor Allen did last week about the Word of God. It's not here to be some kind of rule book that you must read or else. It's here to build relationship with you. He wants the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Jesus Christ is his Word. He's in his Word and read it and he'll speak to you.
Time with him, Personal relationship with Jesus, but. But it means more than that. And we gotta get this in our heart. This is why we're doing connectors. This is why we're the church.
And you gotta get ahold of this. You gotta get this a revelation for yourself. Because he says here, since we're surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses, since we are twisted together with all of these people of faith, do you know who he was talking to? He was talking to a church. All of the letters of the New Testament are talking to churches or people in churches, and they all reference relationship, every one of them.
They talk about the intimacy, the twisting together. We are the body of Christ. We are the family of God. And I want to ask you for a second, have you enveloped and twisted yourself together with other brothers and sisters of faith because you want to run your race well? You want to be a champion of faith?
There is no one. And this might be controversial, but I think it's true. I don't know anyone who I would call a champion of faith who is a complete lone ranger and doesn't have relationship with other brothers and sisters of great faith.
We need it. I need it. I would not be here today, I promise you. I've got great. I've got my personal relationship with Jesus.
Jesus, and I need that. And that is important and vital to me. But without. It works together with my family. The people that have faith with me, they have helped carry me through.
They've challenged me and encouraged me when I couldn't encourage myself and vice versa. And some of us, we haven't. When things get tough, if you're not twisted together with the family of God, you're in trouble. I've watched it. I've watched it.
It breaks my heart. I watch people who are part of our church, family and I watch them drift away and disconnect. And I can tell, you know, this breaks my. It absolutely. Because I can tell when people stop coming into the house of God and they've suddenly they're not turning up and they're not.
We're not connected anymore. And it's bit by bit by bit. And I go, if that keeps up, it's just a matter of time. And I've. And I worry for them because I say that's the wrong decision.
And I know we get hurt and I know we carry shame and I know it's hard sometimes, but I have learnt through the hardest times I must stay twisted together with my family even when they've hurt me, even when I did not want to be here. Twisted.
And I want to ask you, is that your revelation? Don't isolate yourself. You gotta be part of a family in community. And it's not easy. And I can't do it.
You can't just have the pastors that we have to each say, you have to have a revelation.
This is what I'm called to be a part of. Can I challenge us for a second? I'm going away for a few weeks, so you can just, you know, tell Fua or whoever didn't like that from Adrian, but you're here now, so it's all okay.
I've made a commitment since I was a kid. I'm in church every week. Not because it gets me brownie points with God, it doesn't. I know that. Not dumb.
I'm not legalistic on it. If I don't make that commitment, I drift and I lose relationship with people. How can you be twisted together with people when I only see you one once a month?
I can't. And I watch in our society, we have a Christian society right now that if we're honest, they now consider regular church attendants attending once a month to church.
And I'll God, you go, oh, Adrian, church attendance, blah blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, I agree that's not the measure of your faith. But I've realized this. Without my twisting together with my brothers and sisters in Christ, my faith weakens and my impact weakens. And here's the thing, you might be strong where you are in the time, but you wait till you go through a hard time.
And can I say this? If you think, well, I'm doing fine and it's all okay, I'll promise you this, there are people that God had intended for you, you to be twisted together with, to help them, to help them keep on their Faith, our kids, our families, others, our friends around you. And if you're not there, they miss out.
But I can't give you that revelation. That's up to you. And I'm thankful for so many of us. I know I'm preaching to the converted here, right? But we can encourage others and be someone that says, I want to be twisted together.
Twisted, twister together. As for me and my house, you know, we are family. We've said we're going to be in the house of God at least once every week. At least once every week for us, I mean, it's more. I know we're pastors and all that, our kids.
Ella goes to youth every Friday night, whether she feels like it or not.
And she's thankful for that because she's twisting together. Let me give you this story I read. Then we're going to finish and we're going to pray together.
I was reading about the Boston Marathon, right? And you know, I don't often read about it because that is the last thing I'll ever be doing is a marathon.
But it's 42km, right? 42km. And a few years ago, there was a Venezuelan man that went into the Boston Marathon. His name was Michael Melamed. Michael Melamed.
There he is. He went in the Boston Marathon. There's an interesting uniqueness to this man that he has muscular dystrophy. And it's a breakdown of the muscles and as the pain in walking and the inability to be able to, you know, just to carry himself along. It's powerful, painful, and it takes extra effort.
And his muscles don't want to do what we just take for granted. Every step is a challenge. So he went in the Boston Marathon and it took him 20 hours, 20 hours, but he completed it. You know, when he completed it, 4am in the morning. 4am in the morning, you think about that 42km, 20 hours with muscular dystrophy.
And imagine if you've sprained your ankle, you know, broken a leg and you're trying to pull yourself along, pull yourself along for 20 hours. He got to the end at 4am in the morning. And you know what? Everyone else is finished. They're done.
They're in bed or they're partying or whatever they're doing. But you can see in these pictures, he finishes that at 4am he gets to that finish line and he was not alone, because the whole way through he had people. He had people support supporting him, cheering him on the side, walking with him. He had people helping Lift him sometimes when he ran out of his energy and would help support him as he kept walking on. He had people at the finish line cheering him on.
How did he get through 20 hours of that with what he was going through, when everyone would have said, ah, it's impossible. It is impossible by yourself. But he had this whole team and group of people. Some would have been strangers, some would have been intimate with him, but they were twisted together. And together they achieved something incredible.
You know it's true. You know, you can't do this life alone. You weren't meant to do it alone. God did not call you to follow him without others around you. That's what I love.
When people come into this church and they say, you know what? I'm struggling, but I got here. I got here. I need this. I need this family.
You don't need. You don't just need some music. That's not what you're here for. We have worship. We have the Word.
I hope they're a blessing to you. We need us. You need the person next to you, the person alongside you. Together. That's the family of God.
Twisted together. Are you twisted together? And I want some of us. I want our church as we go forward in the next months and years to come, I want us to become twisted together even more. I want us to become the church that says, you know what, Adrian?
We're not about the lights and putting a great service on. We love that. That's great. Come in and enjoy it. But I'm here because I'm part of a family.
I'm here because I'm in relationship. I've got friends, I've got people that I talk to that because of them, they kept me going when I felt like giving up. Don't to you want. Want that. And it's not easy, to be honest.
It's easier to put on a show, put on a performance, put on a service that's easier. Just work hard at doing that. Well, the harder thing is to be the family of God twisted together. And I need you. He lives it to you.
Don't just wait. Can I say this? Don't wait for a pastor to call you a pastor to reach out and give you opportunity. There are people all over this place that you can go and get to know and love. And sometimes they won't respond because they're going through something anyway.
I don't know why sometimes they do that to me. It's all right. I'm gonna keep on loving. Will you be one of those people that says, I'm gonna learn. I'm gonna go and twist and I'm gonna overcome my insecurities.
Because you know what? You're a champion of faith. You're a champion of faith. I promise you, you are a champion of faith. Do you see yourself as that?
Don't come in going, I'm no one. I've got nothing to offer. That is a lie of the devil. And I've told you this before. I've talked about it.
I had a revelation when I was 17. I went from being someone that was waiting for others to come up to me, waiting for others to love me and say, God, I just need to be told I'm loved. And I was insecure. And I got this revelation from where he said, adrian, you can stay like that for the rest of your life, or you can go and be the person of faith that, you know, I'm put in your heart. I went into my church and I started reaching out to people and building relationship.
And I got twisted together. The people, the groomsmen and the best man and people at my wedding were people that I'd done that with over the. The last. Over three, four years. They became my best mates.
There were others that I built in. I started a connect or took over a connect group. And some of those people were still in relationship. We'd still know. And they built relationship with others because we got twisted together.
You can do that. Get a revelation. Go, reach out. You don't need permission. Twist it.
That's how we're going to be pushing people of faith. That's how you're going to finish your race strong. And I want it for every single one of us. Can I encourage us? I know we're going away for three.
It's through. It's a tiny bit of time. Be strong. Be the church.
Be people that say, you know what? I got something. God's called me to do something in youth, young adults, families and other seniors, in mature families across everywhere.
We're going to pray.
We're going to pray. We're going to ask God to help us be those three things. I don't know which one of those resonate with you? Maybe all of them. Maybe one of them.
To get tenacious with Jesus Christ, determined. I'm staying strong. True. I'm stripping off the things that are hindering me to get transfixed on Jesus. I'm going to look at him more.
I'm going to focus my attention and my thinking upon Jesus and follow him. And I'm going to get Twisted with Jesus. I'm going to get twisted with him personally, but I'm going to get twisted in with other relationships in the body of Christ and other brothers and sisters that are going to help me. We're going to run this strong together. We're going to run it strong together.
Come on on young people. We're going to run it strong together. The world is a mess of temptation and different options of going down. But together, when you together you can do mighty things together, you can stay twisted together and see God do mighty things through your lives.
So we're going to pray. Maybe you're in this place.
Well, first of all I want to pray for you about that. I want to to say God, if you want to be a champion of faith, so that's my desire, Lord, I just want to invite you right now to lift out your hands to the Lord with our eyes closed between you and God right now. Just say Holy Spirit. Why don't you invite him? Just say Holy Spirit.
What do you want to speak to me about? What are you speaking to to me about? I open my heart to you right now.
There's forgiveness here for you right now. If you say, Lord, I've been away from you or maybe I've never known you and now why don't you just say Jesus, I accept you as my Lord and Saviour. Forgive me Lord, I receive you as Lord and Savior of my life. I'll follow you. Just say that to him in your heart right now.
Coming to you, Lord.
Holy Spirit speaking.
I love you Lord. Love you Jesus. Thank you Holy Spirit. What is he saying to you? What's he saying?
Write it down later write it down and say, Lord, I'm going to follow. I'm going to obey. I'm going to remove that from my life. I'm going to focus on that. I need to put this action in my life.
I need to be here more. I'm going to commit myself to being in your house or being in relation. I'm going to catch up with this person.
The Lord's going to lay some practical things do this and he wants you to action it this week. What is it with him?
So Lord, I pray for your people.
These are your sons and daughters. They are champions of faith.
Some of them don't see it yet, but Lord, they are.
Some of you, the Lord wants to let it. He wants you to let him show you that you are a champion of faith, that he saved you, redeemed you, that he's forgiven you and that there's a fresh start and that you're called to be a different person from what you used to be, a champion of the faith. Fix your eyes on Jesus.
Some the of of us. God's. We've let go of dreams because we said, oh, I don't know if that's and God's stirring you right now saying, do you know you're called to be twisted because you got something to offer, you got encouragement to offer. You can change God's stirring your heart and saying, there's a fire coming in you going, I can do more. I can change lives.
I can be. Oh God, it's a. I can feel it stirring. That's the spirit of God. That's the spirit of God. Don't just lay dormant on that.
Act on it. Say, lord, what's the next step? I want to. To be part of twisted. Encouraging people to be champions of faith in my family, in my home.
What do you need to do? So, Lord, I pray for us all that you'd help us, God, not just to be people of Christians in name, but Christians in action, Christians in heart, followers of Christ that are transfixed. Our gaze is caught up. We're in love. We're obsessed with the Lord Jesus.
We're not perfect, but we're obsessed with you, Lord. And everything we do comes out of that, Lord, keep us running strong for you, Lord. When we're going through a difficult time, Lord God, let us look to you and it keeps us there. Keep us going to others, Lord God, that lift us up when we need it and we run together and we finish together, Lord.
So I pray God, for every person in this place or watching. Be with them, Lord. Let them know your love and grace and let it keep us going for you with all our hearts. We pray it in Jesus name. Everyone said amen.
Amen. Well, thank you. Thank you for listening. Why don't we stand to our feet? We're going to finish.
These guys are going to finish with some music. We've got morning tea out there. God bless you guys. We love you. See you again soon.
Related Bible Verses
Hebrews 12:1–4 (NLT)
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.”
🔗 Read on Bible.com
1 Corinthians 9:24–27 (NLT)
“Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”
🔗 Read on Bible.com
Philippians 3:13–14 (NLT)
“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
🔗 Read on Bible.com
Isaiah 40:29–31 (NLT)
“He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
🔗 Read on Bible.com
Matthew 14:29–30 (NLT)
“Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.”
🔗 Read on Bible.com