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Issue link: http://magazine.kcm.org/i/1247493
Champions in Training by Kenneth Copeland A number of years ago, when I began teaching again on the basics of faith, I knew it was going to help people who were new to the faith message. What I didn’t know was how much it was going to help me. I’ve been around the faith message for over 50 years now. I thought I had the basics down pretty well. But in setting out to teach them again, I initially found myself struggling and came to a startling realization: When it came to the fundamental operations of faith, I’d let a lot of things slip! That’s an easy mistake to make, and no matter how seasoned we may be as believers, it’s one we can’t afford. After all, our faith “is the victory that overcometh the world” (1 John 5:4). It’s the force by which we triumph over the challenges of life. So for us to finish our spiritual race as champions, we must continually practice the faith fundamentals because, in every arena of life, that’s what champions do. Think about Super Bowl champions, for example. What are you seeing when you watch them play? Masters of the fundamentals of football. What are you seeing when you watch the champions of the NBA? Players who’ve become experts at the basics of the game. In 1961, after the Green Bay Packers lost the championship, the great coach Vince Lombardi addressed his team on the first day of spring training. Holding a football aloft, he reintroduced them to their sport. “Gentlemen,” he said, “this is a football.” The Packers were professionals! They were expecting their coach to tell them something they didn’t already know. They were hoping he’d let them in on some secret strategy that would give them an edge over the competition and put them back on top. But instead, he focused on the ABCs of blocking, passing, receiving and tackling. As a result, under his leadership, they never lost a championship again. As a believer, under the leadership of The LORD Jesus Christ, I want to have the same kind of winning record, don’t you? I want to live as a world-overcomer, fight the good fight of faith and defeat the devil every time. That’s why I like comparing the Christian life to that of successful athletes and Olympians. Before every one of them got to where they were, they had to answer some questions. They had to say, “I have this body; now what am I going to do with it? How far am I going to go in this sport?” They had to make a quality decision to go for the gold. Otherwise, they would have gotten all excited, and after two weeks of hard workouts, when they got a blister on their toe, they would have reconsidered. Instead of pressing through, they would have backed off and said, “You know, I don’t think this is really what I want to do.” * * * * article continues on p. 6 * * * * 4 : BVOV