1 Corinthians 9:24-27
"Woe to me if I don't preach the gospel," he said.
TENACITY, which can be defined as the persistent determination to hang on and never let go, to stay with something through the very end.
There will be a time when walking away from it all will seem like the most attractive option and will be the easiest thing to do.
It can be summarized in three words:
Direction. Determination. Discipline.
"...the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day..." (2 Timothy 4:6-8)
1. Don't Look Back.
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Jesus said...
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"No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)
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Life can't be lived in reverse.
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"Never look back."
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You can waste your whole life thinking,
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"If only, if only, if only."
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“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”(Philippians 3:13-14)
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26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.
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"Is what I'm doing right now taking me closer to my ultimate goal of winning?"
2. Don't Give Up.
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In the book of Proverbs, Solomon said...
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For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity. (Proverbs 24:16)
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William Blake said...
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"Mistakes are easy, mistakes are inevitable, but there is no mistake so great as the mistake of not going on.
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That's how winning is done.
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Babe Ruth used to say, "You just can't beat the person who never gives up."
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Another way to say it: A man who won't be stopped, can't be stopped.
3. Don't Throw It Away.
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Listen to what Paul said.
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27 I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
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If either of you are going to grow spiritually, you both have to take the same steps.
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You both have to commit to the same spiritual disciplines: Bible study, prayer, worship, service, and fellowship.
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We’ll never get to the point where we’re no longer required to forgive others, or love our enemies, or serve with humility, or give sacrificially, or walk obediently.
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Direction means that you don't look back, you don't live in the past, you keep moving forward.
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Determination means that you don't give up, not even when it's easiest to give up.
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Discipline means that you don't sell out.