5 And if someone likewise competes as an athlete, he is not crowned as victor unless he competes according to the rules…7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 2 Timothy 2:5,7
(*In this teaching we will learn the “rings of truth” (Part I) and the “rules of training” (Part II) to feed the competitive fire with the heart and mind of a champion for the cause of Jesus Christ and the gospel of His kingdom.)
In 1972, I clearly remember watching USA swimmer Mark Spitz capture an unprecedented 7-Gold medals in the summer Olympiad XX. As a 10-year old PeeWee Belmont Barracuda Pueblo Colorado Swimmer, I had just won 4-Silver medals in the Southern Colorado Championships. I was ranked #1 in the state championships in Denver for the 50-meter freestyle. Unfortunately, I completely folded in the race and did not secure a medal. I can still visualize this dismal performance in my mind a half-century later…all I could see was the bubbles from the feet of those ahead of me and the end of the race.
Paul is writing to his son in the faith from prison. He is on death row, the last lap of his life on this earth. These are his last words and he wants young Timothy to have “understanding in everything” (v7). He draws Timothy’s mind to the Olympic games and reminds Timothy he must “compete” to win the victor’s crown according to the rules (v5). The Greek verb for “compete” is ATHLEO, which means “to strive, contend, engage, struggle, wrestle, run” in a contest. To be Christian, is to ardently desire to compete and win at the highest levels for the glory of God’s kingdom. Christians are by nature always striving for improvement, growth and fruitfulness.
Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ are aware that you can’t strive to be accepted by God, but you can strive to be pleasing to God!
The achievements of others often inspires us to pursue goals we had not thought possible. At the same time, our inability to deliver on these personal goals can crush the human spirit. Our failures can become more influential than our successes or the pursuit of excellence. I am not entirely sure why some excel to the heights of victory and others never break the ceiling of mediocrity in life pursuits. As a classic introvert, I often deeply think about spiritual, mental, emotional, social and physical dynamics behind triumphs, defeats and tragedies. This is why I love the stories of the Bible–a history of salvation by grace through faith in the midst of human frailty. Personally, I have dwelt on both sides of the watershed of experiences both tragic and triumphant. One thing I do realize about myself, I am rarely satisfied with anything I do. I am always probing what could have been better, wiser, faster and stronger. Humanistically, we are probably all a bit narcissistic in our ambition or lack of selfish-ambition. For some of us, we don’t give it our all for fear of failure or perhaps fear of success. Success spawns responsibility and expectation to maintain a certain level of discipline and sacrifice. Personal self-destruction or sabotage can be a tool to hold us back from the fear of disappointing ourselves or others whom we may or may not care about. Self-pity is the dark side of the moon of narcissism. I lived on Pink Floyd’s psalmic dark side of the moon far too long. I learned the only way to stop feeling sorry for yourself and get back in the game, is to accept God’s love and forgiveness and move forward to help others. Crucifixion of the self is the only way to become free from self centered living. Resurrection always leads to expressions of love in community.
As you watch or follow the Olympics, ask the Lord to help you refresh your heart to be an overcomer–a victorious Christian! I recently studied the lives of two of the greatest Olympic-swimmers, Michael Phelps and Caeleb Dressel, to gain some insight into developing an Olympic level Christian spirituality–the heart of a champion.
Currently, we are living at the end of the age (1 Pet.4:7), we are facing some of the most unique and difficult challenges ever faced by God’s people (2 Tim.3). Therefore, we have the most glorious opportunity to capture this season by God’s grace to perform at levels unseen to others generations. There is a “lawless” assault upon God’s love requisite for both maturity and ministry in these last days. Jesus Himself addresses His church calling them to unparalleled lives of love, faith and overcoming hope alongside sure rewards of great joy (Rev.2-3)! We will all individually stand before the Bema or Judgement Seat of Jesus Christ to be evaluated by the Lord Himself for the deeds we performed while in our unredeemed bodies. We will both suffer loss and gain reward. We will stand alone and give an account for what we did with His gifts on behalf of His intended purposeful work.
Allow me to lay out five very important truths about cultivating the ‘heart of a champion’. An authentic Christian spirituality must be built upon a solid foundation of grace, humility and love. We must keep the “flame of God’s love” burning in our hearts!
Part I, The Heart of a Christian Champion: Five Rings of Truth
Embraces the Rule of God’s Grace: You are qualified for Heaven’s Olympics by the Grace of God. You are loved, chosen, adopted, redeemed, holy, blameless and fully qualified to participate as a citizen of the kingdom of God. That’s right you are on the God’s Olympic team. Grace is God’s undeserved favor to qualify you to compete for His glory! In the end, even our rewards became a reason to celebrate His grace (Eph.1:6; 2:8-10). The grace of God also trains us to We are not saved by works but for good works and good rewards! Let’s Go! We don’t have to wait 4-years to compete. 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, 12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, eager for good deeds. Titus 2:11-14
Discern Between the Eternal Reward and Temporal Pleasure: Rewards given by our Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the age are of eternal quality. The Christian Champion keeps their heart and treasure in heaven not simply earthly endeavors. This means His reward will download an eternal joy and glory that will not fade with time. Imagine an endless joyful vibe for a job well done, knowing what you did not only brings an eternal pleasure to the heart of the Father but an internal personal satisfaction that never loses its potency. He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him in faith; this is the Enoch factor (Heb.11:6). Our walk now is both epic and Olympic. Dressel said, “I enjoy the race”, the reward, “it’s just a piece of metal”. Every mundane moment can be a penny in the bank of heaven when we are living for the glory of God. 9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Cor.5:9-10
Accepts Individuality and Personal Responsibility: Heb.12:1-2 Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Your race is your race. You and I each have an unprecedented capacity to bring home the gold and glory to God based on all the unique personal challenges we face. There will only be gold in heaven, no silver or bronze! We compete against ourselves not each other. We all have unique personalities and grace-gifts as the basis of our accountability to our LORD. Both MP and Dressel recognized competing against themselves was the key to victory, not competing against others. As Christians, we are in a 3-fold battle against the world, the flesh and the devil. How we handle our own thoughts, appetites and ambition determines much of our progress toward the goal of being conformed to the likeness of Christ, it is a relentless battle. We are called to “provoke each other to love and good works”. The fruit of the Holy Spirit of ‘self-control’ is one of the keys to victory. 24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. So they do it to obtain a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way as not to run aimlessly; I box in such a way, as to avoid hitting air; 27 but I strictly discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified (1 Cor.9:24-27).
Places a High Value on Others: The demonstration of love for others is the standard of authentic Christian spirituality. “We love, because He first loved us.” All our Olympic efforts to glorify God are channeled like raindrops into a steady river of God’s love flowing in us , through us and into others through words and deeds which make a difference in the strengthening of others to fulfill their divine mission. God’s motivating love is what qualifies ALL our words and deeds for His eternal reward! If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory, but do not have love, it does me no good.
Exercises 3-Disciplines to Overcome Evil: John gives us 3-keys of victory which elevates our game…the blood of the Lamb, our testimony and loving not our life even unto death. “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death” (Rev.12:11) The blood of the Lamb assures us of forgiveness from the Father and access to the Father in time of our need. Proclaiming our unique story of salvation is what God uses to save others from the Lake of Fire. Death to self is what keeps us filled with God’s power and love to make a difference in the lives of those within our reach. Plead the Blood…preach the gospel…pick up your cross!
Part II, The Mind of a Champion: Techniques & Training for Triumph
Below is a list of techniques that helped Phelps, Ledecky and Dressel achieve gold in the Olympics multiple times over a lifetime of discipline. These mental disciplines are meant to point us toward cultivating a life of growth in the grace and knowledge of Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). Olympic retiree MP was asked what he “learned” from swimming?…”I have grown up alot. I have grown through the process which has been amazing, sad and difficult…my purpose is now to save as many people as I can by raising awareness for mental health issues and water safety.”
Learn from Defeats & Successes— You must live and practice differently to not repeat defeat. Recidivism is the result of discipline and sorrow without repentance. Vice-versa, champions perfect routines that result in victory. At the age of 15, MP finished 5th in the 200M Butterfly in Athens. The next 29 Olympic final races (Athens, Beijing, London, Rio) MP would win 23-Gold, 3-Silver, and 2-Bronze by the age of 31! Capture the learning moments of success and immediately build on them to sustain a level of excellence. In 2014, MP’s second DUI and suicidal depression propelled him to the salvation of the Lord after he embraced rehab and sobriety. Out of this experience of failure and resurrection of his true identity, he came out of retirement, was voted captain of the Olympic swim team, and won another 5-golds and one silver at Rio in 2016. He humorously mentions that before Rio, he never received a single vote to be captain because he was too intense and nobody wanted to follow him.
The call to “press on” to know God and be formed into the likeness of Jesus is the ‘prime directive’ of the disciple. The standard of perfection demonstrated by the Son of God looms on the horizon of every endeavor in life. The call to follow Christ is a call to perpetual betterment, growth and fruitfulness through all human weaknesses and the myriad of life circumstances. We can become bitter or better. Sometimes I feel as though the only taste buds I have in my soul are bitter. Daily, I must learn to savor the full pallet of God’s grace salted into my experiences to appreciate all outcomes.
There are 3-foci of “pressing on” in the Scripture:
- Press on to “know the Lord” (Hosea 6:3; Phil.3:8). Question: What did I learn about the Lord from this experience?
- Press on to “maturity” (Heb.6:1; Phil.3:15). Question: What did I learn about myself that I can improve?
- Press on to the reward of the “resurrection from the dead” (Phil.3:11). Question: Is this endeavor of eternal value?
Listen to Your Coach & Embrace the Best— Learn as much as you can from those who are better or further down the path from you. MP and coach Bob Bowman perfected the underwater dolphin kick on starts and turns by watching the Australian legend Ian “Thorpedo” Thorpe in the 2000’s use his size 17’ feet power away from his competition. MP’s (middle-distance swimmer of 200’s & 400’s) and Dressel’s underwater training for starts and turns at the walls is often what sets them apart from their competitors. On any given start of the race Dressel (a sprinter of 50’s & 100’s) is at least a half a body ahead of the field after his first stroke at 15 meters. Dressel studied cheetah’s to help him understand “strategic speed”. Dressel is currently the world’s faster swimmer.
Who we train with often determines what we accomplish. Clearly, we are surrounded by “a great cloud of witnesses” who are saying in collective unity, “Jeff, fix your eyes on Jesus!” Our training must include a detailed knowledge of the Player-Coach, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. He has “been there and done that yet without sin!” We must saturate ourselves in the details of the Gospel’s to harness the heart of a Champion!
Genetics is Not Enough— MP is 6’4” with a freakish arm span of 6’8”, size 14’ feet, a long v-shaped torso and short sturdy legs, double jointed arms and legs and a lung capacity nearly twice the normal human being. However, without the ‘dedication’ to and love of the sport no genetically superior athlete can sustain world-class levels year over year. MP did not take a day off for around 6-years to perfect his routine to eventually win an unprecedented 8-golds in the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
I was coached by an Olympic coach when I was in high school. One day I was standing on the deck before a practice and Coach Hastings looked at me and then he looked at my big brother Steve. He said to those standing around, “I wish I could put Jeff’s heart in Steve’s body.” My brother Steve had an incredible swimmer’s body and athleticism. I had the fire to win but not the ability according to an Olympic coach. That conversation, while a compliment, also served to cultivate doubt about myself for years to come.
When our coach, Jesus Christ, looks at us, he sees our heart for sure. He does not make the mistake Samuel made when searching for God’s king to replace Saul. Peter says we are “partakers of the divine nature” and have everything we need to live a godly life in Christ well-pleasing the Father! We must “diligently” love God and add the necessary disciplines to produce the fruit and gifts of the Spirit for the benefit of others. 4 Through these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world on account of lust. 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. (2 Peter 1:4-7).
Routine Rules– The olympic greats while not perfect themselves, seek to perfect their routines before, during and after their competitions. Both MP and Dressel integrate their routines into a life rhythm to minimize distraction and maintain focus on goals. Even celebration at the end of gold medal performances were modulated by the need to warm down, eat, rest and recover for the next race. If we are not careful, our greatest defeats can follow close on the heels of success or some level of breakthrough. I have to be careful of a kind of “McDonald’s spirituality” which says, “you deserve a break today”. When you break your athletic routine, it takes twice the time to recover and get back to the place you broke it. MP said, “you miss 1 day of practice, it takes 2-days to recover.” Dressel is big on avoiding complacency–no desire to improve or grow. We are called to advance from ‘glory to glory’ through the consistent routine of “beholding” the glory of the Lord (2 Cor.3:18). We become what we behold, this is why ‘idolatry’ is so devastating. Idolatry is exchanging the truth and glory of God for a lie, a cheap imitation and perversion of the One True Creator.
Find Clean Water: In swimming, “clear water” is ‘still water’. Clear water is undisturbed by the turbulence generated by the swimmers. A swimmer can find clean water by taking the lead. They also find clear water during wall turns when they push off and go deep and under the waves on the surface to only pop up 15 meters down the lane into “clean water”. The more “clean water’ you find the faster you will swim!
The Christian finds “clean water” in a few places:
- In Solitude: The Scripture says that the Good Shepherd leads us “beside still water to restore our souls” (Ps.23). Through prayer and praise, we stroke or stride into quietness and trust, finding salvation and strength (Isa.30:15). We must learn to lead from a place of solitude/silence in the presence of the Lord and go deep into His love to avoid the choppy seas of restless humanity in the nations.
- In Confession & Contrition: The tabernacle and temple had a bronze laver filled with clean water. At the laver, the priests would cleanse their hands and feet in order to be able to go into the Holy Place to worship and serve the Lord. We find ‘cleansing’ when we confess our sins to God and one another (1 John.11:9-10).
- In the Scripture: Jesus said you are clean because of the “word I have spoken to you”. When we sit down and read or listen to the Scripture it cleanses us from all defilement of our flesh and spirit (2 Cor.7:1). The Holy Spirit generates life in us throught the “water of the word” (Eph.
“just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” Eph.5:25-27
Mundanity is the Matrix of Greatness-– Dressel said, “greatness is found in mundanity.” Living in the moment in every facet of life is the connective tissue of life.
Small Things Matter Most in the Big Moments— MP won his 8th gold by .01/seconds in the 100 M Butterfly and surpassed the 7-gold singly olympic record set by Mark Spitz in 1972. Why did he win? MP practiced his finishes 1000’s of times under all different scenarios. From a young teenage swimmer, he was taught to ‘hit the finish pad as hard as you can, don’t glide into the finish!’. Therefore, rather than glide, he took a short stroke and forever etched his name atop the list of Greatest Olympic Athletes of all time. THE GOAT! The start, the turns and the finish are indispensable to the cumulative total of victory…the sum total of little things adds up to Big Victories!
The Danger of Peeking & Peak Performance— In competitive swimming or track & field, do not turn to the side to view your competition while in stroke or stride. Turning your head beyond what is required by the stroke will move your body out of alignment and slow you down. Fixing your eyes on others while racing can have devastating consequences. There is a disturbing phenomena in the body of Christ which I call “mantle-chasing”. People believe if “so and so” lays hands on me I will receive their mantle for ministry. While I believe “the laying on of hands” is foundational to Christian maturity and ministry, it is NOT a substitute for a life lived under the preparatory work of the Spirit of God. Jesus wants to place His Mantle, His Spirit upon you NOT the mantle of somebody else! The cowardice of Saul wanted David to fight Goliath with his armor, in order to get some credit for the victory. David was so encumbered by Saul’s armor that he took it off in favor of his shepherd clothes which were easier to move quickly and efficiently in. I love the personal nature of God’s call upon us. His call is ALWAYS PERSONAL…He calls us by our name…”Moses, Moses…Samuel, Samuel,…Peter, Peter…Saul, Saul.” We must all “lay aside the weights” and “the sin which so easily entangle us” and run the race unique to us. The unnecessary weight of false or misguided expectations we place upon ourselves or are placed by others can betray the true nature of who God has made us to be. Peripheral vision is important to race dynamics but distraction can minimize performance. So very often, I have precious brothers reach out to me to read or watch this, that or the other. If I were to focus on what they are focusing on I would lose focus of what the Lord is having me focus on. Yes to the need for “iron to sharpen iron”! I fear we have a tendency to “info” dump on each other. We need to understand our brother’s calling and come alongside of them to encourage them to fulfill their call, not our calling.
Fight the Fade: Races are often won or lost at the end of the race, whether it is a short or long race. Why? The phenomena is called by various names, “the fade”, “the piano”, ‘the choke’ etc. When lactic acid builds up in the muscle in your body and your lungs can know longer inhale and exhale at capacity you “fade”. Whenever, your stroke or stride shortens, your hips sink, your kick spins and it feels like a piano has just landed on your back, and your body slips into a heavy state of exhaustion before the race is finished….this is called “fading”. Endurance is the ability to hold your stride or stroke and momentum even when you are in extreme fatigue.
The only way to fight the “fade” is by endurance training in practice. All the greats mastered how to finish strong and win races. Long distance All-Time Olympic great Katey Ledecky’s strategy was to grab the lead with such a brutal pace nobody could catch her. She learned her pace in practice, not the actual contest. However, in Tokyo Australian swimmer Titmus dethroned her to take gold in both the 200m and 400m freestyle by an endurance technique called “negative split”. Titmus swam about a ½ – 1 body length behind Ledecky until the last 50 meters and then kicked into a final gear and reached the wall first. However, in the 800m & 1500m Ledecky did not fade and held on to win gold in those two long distance races. MP fought the fade by going out “too fast” at the beginning of his races, so he would have his legs at the end of the races to hold off the charges of others. His splits at the end of his races were often faster than his splits at the beginning of the race. Tokyo 2020/21 saw the mastery of this negative split technique by American Gold medalist in the 800m and 1500m Michael Finke. Finke won gold in both races by coming from behind in the last 50m of both races to reach the wall first. In an interview after the 1500m gold performance, Finke said his coach drilled into his head by yelling at him to sprint the last 50m in every practice set. He won gold because he could hear the screaming voice of his coach in his head to finish strong!
Endurance is a key quality the Christian (the church) must develop in these days of great resistance and opposition from the world against the cause of Christ and the gospel. Love “endures” all kinds of challenges. We must keep building ourselves up in the “love of God” by the Holy Spirit through prayer, praise and fellowship. Jesus, our Coach, is screaming in our heads to “fade not”, to “not grow weary in well doing” and to finish strong in faith. Listen to the voice of our Head Coach through the prophet Habakkuk regarding the seeming delay of the Coming of the Lord Jesus, “ Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.37 For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.38 But My righteous one will live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not among those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith for the safekeeping of the soul. (Heb.10:35-39).
In conclusion, you and I have the Spirit of God dwelling in our bodies. This is the same Spirit who stirred the patriarchs to launch out into unchartered horizons of obedience , who came upon the Judges in power, who anointed kings and stirred the prophets to search for the Messiah before His time. This Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead after He completed the work the Father gave Him to accomplish, presently shouts in your heart to run your race with endurance and finish the work He has qualified you to do!
May the heavens open and the promise of the Father descend upon you to qualify, train and lead you into triumph in every place you go!
