Having the Heart of a Champion

READY
"The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on His throne."
-Revelation 3:21

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.
-1 Corinthians 16:13-14

SET
The heart of a champion…,many talk about it; us coaches seek to instill it in our players; players dream of being victorious. But what does the heart of a true champion look like?

The past couple of weeks we witnessed history on the basketball court. The Denver Nuggets came back to win two series in a row in which they were down 3 to 1. That put them an incredible 6 and 0 in elimination games. A feat that had never before been accomplished. They also were losing by double digits in many of those elimination games. When asked why their team was able to continue to come back and ultimately win despite all odds against them, they simply said we did not give up, we believed we could do it, and we kept playing with that faith.

The night that Christ was betrayed, He spent time with His disciples. Before Jesus went to the garden that night, the last words He spoke to the disciples (as recorded by John) were, "I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world" (John 16:33).

Christ was the perfect example of someone with the heart of a champion. He completed the task at hand. He was obedient to the end. He endured the agony of the cross, the shame of public crucifixion and the burden of sin placed on Him. He conquered death and overcame its grip to reclaim His throne next to His Father. Though He had the power of the universe in His hands, He remained humble and submitted to the will of His Father! And He emerged victorious!

In His message to the seven churches in Revelation, Christ gave a challenge. It was simple: "If you overcome, I will be there with you at the victor's stand!"

As Christians:
We are to develop the heart of a champion.
We are to overcome the world and its temptations.
We are to complete the task God has given us to complete and fix our eyes on Him who endured His race to the end.

and we are to do all of this with God's Help!

Modeling Jesus is modeling the Perfect Champion!

GO
1. What does it take to have the heart of a true champion?
2. How do you develop the heart of a champion in your sport?
3. How do you develop the heart of a champion in the Christian life?

WORKOUT

Hebrews 3:6
Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,”bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.